Living in Brazil gives me, appart from working all day with franquias and cursos, the opportunity to experience,  how  all the preparations for the World Cup 2014 are running. I was living in Spain exactly 2 years before the ´82 Worl Cup started,  in Germany ´04 and now in Brazil ´012.

I remembered being a kid and drawing all day long “Naranjitos” the Spain´s 82´s World Cup mascot. For me and not because I´m spanish, one of the best ever in all FIFA´s World Cups. Well, the mascot for the 2014 World Cup is a very curious animal, the Tolypeutes matacus, “tatu- bola” in Brazil.

This animal for defence purpouses like turtles , rolls up into the shape nearly of a ball and it is threaten with extintion. The nomination came up from the suggestion from a Brazilian Biologist, who wanted to help out this amazing and genuine brazilian animal, a vulnerable species, by nominating it as the mascote of the World Cupa 2014. His proposal was so sucessfull that the “tatu-bola”  was chosen, but
what´s the name of the mascote? It hasn´t a name  yet.

It´s the first time in the history of FIFA World Cups, that FIFA allows to the host country, Brazil, to vote until mid-November to choose the name of the “tatu-bola” as a mascot. Brazilians and us have 3 name choices – Amijubi, from the words “amizade” and “júbilo” (friendship and joy) ; Fuleco, combining the words “futebol” and  “ecologia” (football and ecollogy) and Zuzeco, which is made from”azul” and “ecologia” again!!!  (blue and ecollogy) The mascot’s announcement was made on a television show with the participation of Ronaldo who won 2 World Cups with Brazil (1994 and 2002) and who is named to be one of the main characters.

This the tatu bola the official mascote with the 3 colours of the brazilian flag. My choice for the name of the mascot is Zuzeco and I have already voted for Zuzeco. I am posting the URL of the FIFA http://mascot.fifa.com/voting.php for you to vote and participate in the election of the mascote´s name.

Participating in historic events make you feel so good. I voted for the election of the official match ball Brazil 2014 between 3 names: Brazuca, Bossa Nova and Carnavalesca. I voted for Bossa Nova and didn´t win. The official name is Brazuca suceeding Jabulani from the last World Cup 2010 in South Africa. Brazuca means something like ‘a national pride in the Brazilian way of life’. I thought Brazuca had a peyorative meaning, but I was wrong. They have already complaint not beacause of any meaning, but because of the difficult pronunciation of the 3 words and for a possible cacophony in portuguese.

It seems that FIFA will use Brazil a nature paradise and its World Cup as a platform to communicate the importance of the environment and ecology. Therefore the mascote will for sure be named Fuleco or Zuzeco. Meanwhile I will continue enjoying the nature and the great passion which Brazil has for football, that will be the key feature of the sucess of next FIFA World Cup.