The mascot of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar is a keffiyeh, the traditional Arab headdress, called "La'eeb", which means "super gifted player" in Arabic, World Cup organizers announced on Friday.
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La'eeb, which was unveiled at the opening of the draw for the final phase in Doha, "comes from a parallel universe of mascots" and "everyone is invited to interpret what he looks like", they specify in a communicated.
This announcement was preceded by the broadcast of the first official song of the Mondial, “Hayya Hayya (Better Together)”, a few hours earlier.
The Qatari World Cup, from November 21 to December 18, will be the first to be held in an Arab country.
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In 2018 in Russia, the mascot was a wolf named "Zabivaka", a play on words between "scoring a goal" and "battleman".
She succeeded the armadillo Fuleco, who had represented the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, and the leopard Zakumi of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
The 1966 World Cup in England was the first to feature a mascot, a lion named Willie wearing a Union Jack shirt with the wording 'World Cup' written on it.
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