Zakumi the official South Africa Mascot

Zakumi's birth date coincides with a day known and celebrated as Youth Day in South Africa. The group A match played between South Africa and Uruguay (Match 17) also coincides with Zakumi's birthday. He will turn 16 in 2010.^[2]
The green and yellow (gold) colours of the character match the colours used in South African sport uniforms and can also be seen in the South Africa national football team's kit.
Andries Odendaal, from Cape Town, created the original character design.^[3]
The official motto of Zakumi is "Zakumi's game is Fair Play." The motto was seen in the digital advertisement boards during the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, and he will also appear in the 2010 FIFA World Cup.^[2]
According to a FIFA comic strip, Zakumi dyed his hair green so that he would be camouflaged against the pitch