Meet the 3 mascots of FIFA World Cup 2026 & what fans think of them

For the first time ever, the FIFA World Cup is being hosted jointly by three countries this year: the United States, Canada and Mexico. 

In addition to the matches being held in 16 cities across these three countries, the World Cup is also being expanded to include 48 teams, instead of the typical 32. 

In other words, it’s the biggest FIFA World Cup yet! 

To help us get in the World Cup spirit, let’s dive into this year’s mascots for the event.

Mascots help give each World Cup a distinct personality and serve as a visual tie to the host country’s culture or history. They each come with a name, a backstory and a personality and they’re prominently featured across World Cup marketing campaigns, merchandise and social media posts, plus they’re present at the live matches themselves to engage fans.  

Typically, World Cup mascots feature bold colors and simple shapes to be instantly recognizable and work across mediums. 

This year, the World Cup mascot needed to embody three country’s identities, so FIFA opted for three mascots — one for each host country. 

They released Clutch™ the Bald Eagle from the United States, Maple™ the Moose from Canada and Zayu™ the Jaguar from Mexico.

How do Americans, Canadians and Mexicans feel about these mascots? We surveyed over 1,000 people in the US, Canada and Mexico to find out. 

1. People strongly prefer “their” mascot, highlighting the importance of local representation: Across all three countries, the mascot representing the respondent’s home country consistently performs best. Each winning mascot taps into instantly recognizable national symbols, which reinforces the idea that familiarity and cultural authenticity drive emotional connection — an insight that’s true for marketers beyond mascots as well!

2. Soccer interest varies widely across host countries, and so does mascot enthusiasm: Mexico has the deepest connection to soccer and the highest intent to watch the World Cup (88%), followed by Canada (two-thirds) and the US (about half). This enthusiasm directly correlates with mascot reception. Mexicans like Zayu™ a lot more than mascots of previous years and say the mascots get them more excited about this year’s World Cup than the mascots do for Americans and Canadians. This tells us that Mexico is likely to feel more connected to any communications related to soccer and the World Cup than the US or Canada. 

3. Mascots resonate most with people already planning to watch the World Cup: Perception of the mascots improves significantly among those who intend to tune in. Among likely World Cup viewers, nearly 9 in 10 across all three countries say the mascots capture the spirit of the World Cup. Clearly the mascots are especially powerful in engaging already interested fans, rather than converting non-fans.

4. Friendly, approachable design wins with broad appeal: Across markets, people respond positively to the mascots that feel warm, expressive and kid-friendly. However, some feedback suggests a tension between friendliness and competitive intensity, with a minority saying they would have preferred designs that feel more “World Cup-level” and less safe. But for a big, global event like the FIFA World Cup, broad appeal is critical — so the friendly design was a smart direction for these mascots.

5. Overall, the three-mascot approach is working: Despite differing levels of soccer fandom, the majority of people in all three countries agree that the mascots capture the spirit of the World Cup and each mascot reflects its host country well. And people across the three host countries find the mascots appealing. This suggests FIFA’s multi-mascot strategy was a successful choice! While global events like this serve to bring people together, the three mascot approach allows each of the host countries to feel fully represented. 

Now let’s get into the analysis.

Each of the three host countries has its own unique relationship to soccer. In the US, 31% of people say they never watch soccer at all, compared to 18% in Canada and only 5% in Mexico. 

Soccer is most popular in Mexico, with 65% saying they’re regular soccer viewers (watching it “always” or “often”) compared to 40% of Canadians and only 24% of Americans. 

With all that in mind, it’s not too surprising that a whopping 88% of Mexicans say they’ll watch the World Cup this year! Two-thirds of Canadians and half of Americans say they’ll tune in. 

This is important context to consider as we look at how each country reacts to the World Cup mascots.

Since the World Cup mascots this year represent their own countries, we theorized that Americans, Canadians and Mexicans might feel more connected to this year’s mascots than mascots from previous years. 

Mexicans are the most enthusiastic about this year’s mascots, with more than half (57%) saying they like them better than mascots from previous years. That number jumps to 62% when we look at those who are planning to watch the World Cup this year (not a huge increase since the vast majority of Mexicans are planning to watch the event!).

Just under a third of Americans (30%) like these mascots better, although that number jumps to 43% among those who are planning to watch the World Cup this year (a larger increase since fewer Americans are planning to watch the event).

Canadians are a bit more reserved in their appreciation of the mascots, with only 28% saying they like the mascots better than previous years’ mascots — with that number jumping only slightly to 34% among those who are planning to watch the World Cup this year.

FIFA released these mascots last year to start building momentum for the World Cup. Do the mascots increase excitement for the World Cup among the host countries? 

Half of Americans and nearly half of Canadians say the mascots increase their excitement for the games. And once again we see Mexicans come in with more enthusiasm — 70% say the mascots increase their excitement for the games. 

Those who are already planning to watch the World Cup are even more excited by the mascots, suggesting that the mascots are most exciting for existing World Cup fans.

Now let’s look at how each country ranks the mascots based on overall appeal. 

United States

Clutch™ the Bald Eagle is the winner in the United States, getting 42% of the first-choice votes! Although Zayu™ the Jaguar is not far behind with 37%.

What Americans say about Clutch™ the Bald Eagle:

1. Strong, instantly recognizable American symbolism: Specifically, the bald eagle really resonates. People see it as a powerful symbol of the US — evoking freedom, strength, victory and patriotism. They say it’s “so American,” “our national bird” and something that “just fits” for the US.

2. Sense of unity and shared values: Beyond patriotism, people respond strongly to the idea that Clutch embraces every culture and unites people across the United States. This framing resonates emotionally and helps the mascot feel bigger than sports.

3. Visually appealing and friendly design: The design is widely seen as cute, fun, friendly and approachable. People like his smile, his spread-out wings and active stance. They find him engaging for kids and say he looks like he’s having fun.

We saw some mixed reactions to the name “Clutch,” with some people saying it sounded modern and sporty (as in, “coming in clutch”) and others wishing for a more majestic name. His pink/purple shoes were also mentioned a number of times as not fitting with his overall color palette. 

Canada

Maple™ the Moose came in first in Canada with 53% of the first-choice votes! Canada has a bigger gap between first and second place than the US, with Zayu™ the Jaguar getting 26% of the first-choice votes. 

What Canadians say about Maple™ the Moose: 

1. Extremely strong Canadian identity: The moose is instantly recognizable as a Canadian icon and the name “Maple” reinforces national symbolism. Many people said things like “this is so Canadian” or “it represents Canada perfectly.” He creates a sense of pride among Canadians and they especially like the messaging around unity, diversity and connection across Canada. 

2. Cute, friendly and approachable personality: People describe him as cute, adorable, friendly, joyful, warm and welcoming. They like his happy face and playful posture and many think he is kid-friendly and family-oriented. 

3. Strong visual design: Maple’s design gets a lot of praise, with people calling his antlers well-designed and distinctive and the overall illustration quality seeming cohesive and high quality. People like the red color scheme — noting that red feels bold, confident and appropriate for Canada.

The name Maple is well-liked, but a small portion of people call it out as being too “on the nose” for Canada. Another small group say the design lacks edge or intensity for the World Cup. 

Mexico

And Mexico completes the trend of countries picking their own mascot: Zayu™ the Jaguar came in first in Mexico with an incredible 64% of first choice votes! Clutch™ the Bald Eagle came in second with 24% of the first-choice votes. Mexico seemingly has the strongest attachment to its mascot compared to the US and Canada, with a much higher percentage of the first-choice votes compared to the other two countries.

What Mexicans say about Zayu™ the Jaguar:

1. Strong cultural representation: The jaguar is widely seen as an authentic, emblematic symbol of Mexico, especially tied to Mayan heritage and southern regions like Chiapas. Many respondents appreciated how the mascot celebrates Mexican culture, history and national pride. The name Zayu and its possible Nahuatl roots resonated with many as meaningful.

2. Animal choice & symbolism: The jaguar strongly conveys strength, agility, speed, power and leadership — qualities people associate with soccer and the Mexican team. Several noted the jaguar’s status as an endangered species, which adds emotional and symbolic depth.

3. Design & visual appeal: Zayu is frequently described as cute, friendly, expressive and eye-catching. The green jersey and national team uniform were praised for clearly signaling Mexico and evoking pride. Many liked the face, eyes, fur pattern and overall character personality, which balances friendliness and athleticism.

While most people like the name Zayu, a small group found the name hard to remember or not distinctly Mexican enough. A few people also called out that his face looked too serious and wanted more of a happy or energetic facial expression.

A successful World Cup mascot captures the spirit of the World Cup and the host country. Were these mascots able to do that? 

People think that the mascots as a whole represent the spirit of the World Cup across countries (T2B: US 70%, Canada 73%, Mexico 88%). 

When we look only at those who say they’re planning to watch the World Cup this year (and those who are likely to be more familiar with the World Cup and what the spirit of the World Cup is), those numbers are even higher (T2B: US 89%, Canada 82%, Mexico 92%).

We also see across countries that people largely think each mascot captures the spirit of the host country. 

Three-quarters (75%) Americans think Clutch™ the Bald Eagle fits the US, compared to 70% of Canadians and 77% of Mexicans. 

Canadians feel much more strongly about their own mascot, however, with 80% saying Maple™ the Moose fits the identity of Canada. 80% of Mexicans and 75% of Americans agree.

Finally, Mexicans continue to show their enthusiasm for their own mascot, with an incredible 87% saying Zayu™ the Jaguar captures the cultural identity of Mexico! 72% of Americans and 70% of Canadians agree.

The 2026 World Cup is already shaping up to be bigger and different from anything we’ve seen before. The decision to introduce three mascots — Clutch™, Maple™ and Zayu™ — reflects that reality. 

And the data suggests it was a good choice. Across the US, Canada and Mexico, fans feel a stronger connection when they see their own culture and values reflected back at them. That’s a useful reminder for all global marketers. 

We’re looking forward to sharing more about the World Cup this year!