吉祥物是一只名为“zakumi”（暂译为扎库米）的明黄色的豹子。
其中za是南非的国际代码，寓意南非；kumi在很多非洲语言中是10的意思，代表世界杯在xx年举办。扎库米身着白色t恤，绿色短裤，一头打着许多结的运动长发，就像一个驰骋绿茵场上的足球明星。
组委会首席执行官丹尼·乔丹说，扎库米的整个筛选过程历时将近一年，设计和生产过程全部在南非进行。他解释说，最终选择豹的形象来作为世界杯吉祥物是因为南非的5大动物（狮子、大象、水牛、犀牛和豹）中，其他四个已被多次作为体育赛事的吉祥物使用，“豹是个新鲜的想法，”乔丹说，“扎库米”是“地道的南非人”，也是第一次在非洲举办的世界杯的理想形象大使，他年轻、机敏并且充满活力，一定会受到大家的喜爱。
自1966年英国世界杯首次发布吉祥物（一只狮子）以来，吉祥物在此后的世界杯赛事中发挥着日益重要的作用。
world cup leopard mascot unveiled
the south africa official mascot, a leopard known as zakumi, is seen during a launch in auckland park, johannesburg september 22, . the mascot for the world cup in south africa was unveiled in johannesburg on monday, with fifa opting for a leopard for the showpiece football tournament's first visit to africa. zakumi is young, vibrant, energetic, smart, self-confident, sociable and ambitious, but also warm-hearted, local organising commitee ceo danny jordaan said at the televised launch. [agencies]
johannesburg, south africa - a cuddly leopard with a green afro leaped through a beaded curtain monday and into world cup history. the leopard, named zakumi, was unveiled as the mascot of the world cup, which will take place in south africa. at zakumi's introduction at a state tv studio, a performer in a zakumi costume kicked around a football with mark fish, who helped lead south africa to the african cup of nations title in 1996.
zakumi was given a biography and name evoking south africa's history and hopes. the character was born june 16, 1994, tournament organizers said. the year is when apartheid ended and the date is celebrated as youth day to mark the soweto uprising of 1976, remembered as the day when young south africans struck a blow against white rule.
the first two letters of zakumi are the country's initials in afrikaans, one of south africa's 11 official languages. kumi means 10 for the year of the tournament in many african languages, world cup organizers said.
tim modise, spokesman for the south african organizing committee, said zakumi also can be understood as come here in southern african languages.
the idea, design and realization of the mascot all came from south africa, including cora simpson, whose company just east of johannesburg built the costume for monday's launch.
the world cup brings business to my company, simpson said.
her initial contract with the organizing committee was worth less than 250,000 rand (about us$31,000), but simpson said it would open other opportunities and had spread optimism among her staff of about 30.
