Zabivaka

Zabivaka served as the official mascot for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, hosted in Russia. Its name combines the Russian words for "to strike" and "dog." The mascot was created by 22-year-old student designer Ekaterina Bocharova and chosen through an online vote in Russia, where it defeated a tiger and a cat. Before the tournament, the mascot was portrayed by English YouTuber and actor Rafe Young.

The design was revealed on 21 October 2016. Zabivaka is an anthropomorphic Eurasian wolf with brown and white fur. It wears a T-shirt reading "RUSSIA 2018" and orange goggles. The designer stated these are sports goggles, similar to those used in cycling, not ski goggles, explaining that Zabivaka moves so fast on the field it needs eye protection. The white, blue, and red of its T-shirt and shorts match the Russian national team's colors.

The competition results were announced on 22 October 2016, during the show Evening Urgant on Channel One Russia. The wolf, named Zabivaka, received 53% of the vote, compared to the Tiger's 27% and the Cat's 20%. Over one million people voted during September 2016 on FIFA.com and during the live broadcast of Evening Urgant, where the results were revealed. The name was proposed on the show by Vitali Mutko, chairman of the World Cup 2018 Organising Committee. FIFA paid Bocharova $500.