Courtesy of http://www.youtube.com/user/FIFATV
Brazil has a lot coming up. They have the Olympics in 2016, after they have the FIFA World Cup in 2014.
The qualification process has begun in earnest, so now would be the opportune time to bring out some cute merchandise and remind everyone what they are fighting towards. So it has been revealed that Brazil’s mascot and symbol of the games will be… an endangered Armadillo.
An obvious choice? According to FIFA it is. “The fact that the three-banded armadillo is a vulnerable species is very fitting,” says FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke. “One of the key objectives through the 2014 FIFA World Cup is to use the event as a platform to communicate the importance of the environment and ecology. We are glad to be able to do so with the help of a mascot who I’m sure will be much-loved, not only in Brazil, but all over the world.”
Of course, the whole point, really, is to give the kids something to scream at. If it makes them happy, soccer is a success. Buy a toy! Wear the T-Shirt! Can you say “FIFA for LIFE!”?
Remarkably, even former World Cup winner and Ballon D’Or recipient Ronaldo was roped into promoting this critter.
I’m delighted to welcome such an important member to the 2014 team,” Ronaldo claims. “The mascot will play a key ambassadorial role in the next two years. I’m sure he will inspire many young football fans in Brazil and all over the world with the great passion which he has for the sport and for his country.”
The fact that someone powerful thought that we would believe that Ronny believes this is staggering enough. ‘Passion for the sport’? PR truly spins at a different rate from the rest of the cognitive world.
