South Africa 2010 Mascot Zakumi

South Africa will host perhaps the biggest event in 2010 besides the Winter Olympics this year. Soccer fans are growing each year evermore and the pride of Africa rests on the shoulders of Johannesburg, South Africa-it’s estimated half a million people will flock to the Soccer grounds where nation will fight nation. The official animated spokesperson is Zakumi who looks like a cousin of Little Sprout. This event will spark goodwill to many suppressed nations as the ambassador Zakumi will inspire the world’s youth.

Zakumi is the Official Mascot for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He’s a leopard with green hair and a wide smile. “Zakumi” is a composition of “Za” coming from South Africa’s international country code (ZA) and “Kumi”, which translates translates into ‘10′ in various languages across Africa.The green and yellow (gold) colours of the character match the colors used in South African sport uniforms and can also be seen in the South Africa national football team’s kit.

Zakumi’ has been designed and produced exclusively in the host country.The original creator of the design is Andries Odendaal from Cape Town, and the mascot costume itself was produced by Cora Simpson of Cora’s Costumes.