The mascots have been carefully designed to reflect the vibrant culture, heritage and spirit of their respective countries. Together, they embody unity, diversity and a shared passion for football. Forbes.ru.

"These three mascots play a key role in the incredible, exciting atmosphere we are creating for this momentous tournament. They will win hearts and light the fire of celebration all over North America and around the world. I already see them on children's T-shirts welcoming football legends and - another first at this tournament - in video games played by millions of people around the world," said FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

According to the FIFA press service, in an effort to connect with young fans, Maple, Zayu and Clutch will become the first mascots of FIFA competitions available for play in a new licensed project, FIFA Heroes, which is scheduled for release in 2026. This game will be part of an expanding line of FIFA projects under the FIFAe brand, which aim to make digital football accessible to more fans, on different platforms and in different formats.

The 2026 World Cup will be held from June 11 to July 19 in the USA, Canada and Mexico. A record number of 48 teams will take part in the tournament. The tournament will consist of 104 matches in total.

The first match of the tournament will be held on June 11 in Mexico City at the Azteca Stadium, and the final match will be held on July 19 in the U.S. state of New Jersey at Metlife Stadium. The bronze medal match will be held in Miami.

For reference: the last World Cup was held in Qatar in 2022. That was the first time the world Championship was held in the Middle East. 32 teams participated in the final stage of the tournament. The best team in the world was the national team of Argentina, which beat the winners of the previous championship of the French in the final (3:3 in regular time, 4:2 on penalties).