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
Mascot This change encouraged other companies to start creating their own mascots, resulting in mascots being a necessity amongst not only the sporting industry but for other organisations The word 'mascot' originates from the French term 'mascotte' which means lucky charm. This was used to describe anything that brought luck to a household. The word was first recorded in 1867 and popularised by a French composer Edmond Audran who wrote the opera "La mascotte", performed in December 1880. [3] The word entered the English language in 1881. However, before this, the terms were familiar to the people of France as a