Qatar will become the first Middle Eastern nation to host the Fifa World Cup this year, and have announced La’eeb as their mascot for the tournament this November and December.
The footballing family travels to Qatar for the tournament now due to start on November 20 with an encounter between the Maroon and Ecuador. It will see 32 nations battle for global bragging rights, with the final set to be held at the Lusail Stadium in Doha on December 18.
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Qatar were originally scheduled to be one of four matches on the opening day, but agreed with Fifa to bring the match forward by one day as a standalone meeting with the opening ceremony. Whilst the tournament begins just seven days after the Premier League pauses.
Qatar are now putting the final touches in place for the 2022 World Cup, which will see 64 matches take place across eight stadiums during the 22nd running of the Fifa tournament. One those being Qatar and Fifa revealing what and who is the mascot for the 2022 edition.
Qatar reveal La’eeb the ‘super-skilled’ headdress as mascot for 2022 World Cup
Qatar and Fifa have revealed La’eeb will be the mascot for the 2022 World Cup this year. It is an Arabic word meaning ‘super-skilled player’ and Fifa claim the character ‘belongs to a parallel mascot-verse that is indescribable’, and will ‘bring the joy of football to everyone’.
Supposedly, the ‘mascot-verse’ is a parallel world where past, present and future mascots all live. La’eeb will also be downloadable in GIFs and stickers over a variety of social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, WhatsApp and also Snapchat.
La’eeb takes the form of a ghutra, the popular headdress in Arab countries often worn by Qatari dignitaries. The character also encourages everyone to believe in themselves with the slogan ‘Now is All’, and was unveiled during the Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022 final draw.
Where will you see the Qatar 2022 World cup mascot, La’eeb?
La’eeb, the official mascot for the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar, will be seen throughout the tournament. The character will be used for greeting fans at matches and cheering on the action, alongside being used in GIFs and stickers across various social media platforms.
Fans will also be able to download La’eeb through screensavers and filters, while Khalid Ali Al Mawlawi is confident that the 2022 World Cup mascot will be received positively by all.
“We are sure fans everywhere will love this fun and playful character,” the Deputy Director General, Marketing, Communications and Tournament Experience, Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy said.
“La’eeb will play a vital role as we engage fans, young and old, in Qatar’s Fifa World Cup experience.”
How many World Cup mascots have there been to date?
La’eeb is the 15th World Cup mascot across the 22 editions of the Fifa tournament to date after being revealed for the Qatar edition. The trend started at the 1966 edition hosted by England with ‘World Cup Willie’, a lion in a Union Flag jersey with the words ‘World Cup’.
The past three World Cup mascots includes South Africa’s ‘Zakumi’, a leopard with green hair, Brazil’s ‘Fuleco’, an armadillo wearing a white t-shirt, and Russia’s ‘Zabivaka’, a wolf in colours that reflect the Russian flag and with a name that translates as ‘The Goalscorer’.
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