On 22 September 2008, the official mascot for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ was unveiled.

Zakumi is a leopard with green hair, wearing colours which reflect those of the tournament hosts' playing strip - yellow and green. His name comes from ZA, the international abbreviation for South Africa, and 'kumi', a word which means 'ten' in various African languages.

Zakumi's official motto is: 'Zakumi's game is Fair Play'. Andries Odendaal, from Cape Town, created the design of the original character.