Zabivaka

Zabivaka is an official mascot of 2018 FIFA World Cup in Moscow, Russia. Zabivaka is a blend of the words “bully” and “to strike”, both in Russian. The mascot was selected by internet voting in Russia. The voting results were announced on 22 October 2016, in the Evening Urgent on the Channel One Russia. The Wolf, named Zabivaka, scored 53% of the votes, ahead of the Tiger (27%) and the Cat (20%). More than one million people participated in the voting, which took place during September 2016 at FIFA.com, as well as before an during the live show of the Evening Urgant, where the results of the competition were announced.

The name was suggested at the show by the chairman of the World Cup 2018 Organising Committee Vitali Mutko. FIFA paid Bocharova (the designer of Zabivaka) $500.