Zakumi played between South Africa and Uruguay (Match 17) also coincides with Zakumi's birthday. He turned sixteen on 16 June 2010. The green and yellow (gold) colours of the character match the colours used in South African sport uniforms and can also be seen in the South Africa national football team's kit. Andries Odendaal, from Cape Town, created the original character design. The official motto of Zakumi is "Zakumi's game is Fair Play." The motto was seen in the digital advertisement boards during the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, and has also appeared in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Zakumi was intended
Petey (mascot) reference to St. Peter Canisius, who Canisius College is named for. Canisius' golden griffin has been called one of the most unusual of all NCAA mascots. In 2010, after the College of William & Mary adopted the Griffin as their new school mascot, Petey "wrote" a satirical open letter to the William & Mary griffin that was published in "USA Today", welcoming the new griffin mascot to the college mascot community. In 2013, the Catholic website Busted Halo held a March Madness-style competition to determine the title of "Best Catholic Mascot" through online voting. Petey won the online tournament, besting