FIFA World Cup 26 Mascots and Why FIFA’s New Videogame Title Is Interesting

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Image Credit: FIFA

Did you know FIFA has already unveiled the mascots for next year’s FIFA World Cup? Did you also know the mascots will be FIFA’s first “interactive mascots” in an upcoming video game?

Being held all over North America (Canada, the United States, and Mexico), the colourful trio, Maple the Moose, Clutch the Bald Eagle and Zayu the Jaguar, will represent their respective countries in the FIFA World Cup 2026.

The FIFA World Cup mascot is made to represent the country hosting the game, its culture, and, more importantly, the game of football and FIFA. As ambassadors of the game, carefully designed by a team of experts, they are made to advertise football as a family-friendly event, especially to appeal to children in hopes of future generations of supporters.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino stated in the press release announcing the mascots that they are central to the incredible, entertaining atmosphere the governing body has created for the game-changing tournament.

“They’ll win hearts and spark celebrations across North America and around the world,” he said.

“I can already picture them on children’s shirts, high-fiving football legends, and—in another first for this tournament—staring in video games played by millions worldwide.”

The video game he’s referring to is FIFA Heroes, FIFA’s new licensed title where professional football teams and the tournament itself are replaced by playable mascots. From the first-ever mascot, Willie, to the current group, you can put in teams of five.

To put it into context, the videogame, which will release on all current-gen consoles and mobile next year in line with the beginning of the World Cup, is made for younger fans. The videogame will also be a part of the growing portfolio of FIFAe, the electronic entertainment and esports department of the governing body, to make digital football accessible to more fans, the press release said.

FIFA are also partnering with Roblox to deliver in-game events and host quests illustrating each mascot’s role with themed rewards, which, in my humble opinion, may not be a good idea after the news surrounding how the site polices itself this year.

All up, the news is very clear: FIFA are going to try to engage young fans through video games next year. But this isn’t a new move for them.

FIFA’s Videogame Franchise

FIFA has always had a significant presence in the videogame market. The body’s nearly annual titles are shipped by the millions across the world, and that’s only counting the physical copies. If the current year’s game is a little too pricey, you can go over to the bargain bin and grab a previous year for the same console.

Furthermore, since the 1980s, World Cups have had video game tie-ins to celebrate the tournament and the qualifying teams when they play in them. It’s only since 2018, when the 2018 World Cup was relegated to a DLC (downloadable content) for FIFA 18.

The audience of these games are primarily young males and people who enjoy the sport recreationally; not to mention, the games usually score well with critics.

So, why make a grand new title when the franchise you’ve created works? There’s not a clear enough answer, but we can guess creating a brand-new game with three times the stadiums and locations and then having national football team branding as well as being able to know which ones will qualify for next year in time is more expensive to make than using already owned mascots in a 5v5 football game.

So, What Makes The News Interesting?

By FIFA creating a game, developed and published by ENVER in partnership with Solace, for an event that changes location every event, it is more cost-effective and could be successful in bringing more attention to the FIFA World Cup by breaking the mould of tie-ins like done with the Olympics.

Also, FIFA Heroes having mascots from every World Cup appear allows the governing body and the creators of the game the ability to use the title for the next event and maybe continue the game into a larger franchise through FIFAe.

Though, to be fair, since it will be on mobile and it’s aimed at children, FIFA would definitely have to watch and safeguard against predatory advertisements and incentives in regard to microtransactions, which could negatively affect their children player base. Think more stealing their parents’ credit card than loot boxes.

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Japan, Redemption and a World Cup Shot: Why Tom Glover Is Betting on Himself

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IOIO Images | Shutterstock

When Tom Glover, the former Melbourne City goalkeeper, jets to Japan in mid-January and lines up for Japanese J-League 2 club RB Omiya Ardija, firmly entrenched in his mind will be the prospect of selection in the Socceroo squad for the World Cup Finals during the North American summer of 2026.

Little would he have known when first asked to don a pair of gloves in a U/10 futsal final all those years ago that he could be part of the Greatest Show on Earth.

“Until this time, I played as a striker, but my progress to U/11s and U/12s representing Sutherland Sharks was rapid, which vindicated my change to goalkeeping,” says Glover.

Glover’s pathway as a goalkeeper was clearly mapped out at this early stage, as he participated in the Project 22 program at Football NSW on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, and on Tuesday and Thursday with former Canberra NSL custodian Ron Tilsed at Sutherland Sharks.

“Tilsed fast-tracked my career when he had me training with the first team at the age of thirteen, and well-known coach John Haynes threw me in at the deep end in the U/20s when I was only fourteen,” added Glover.

The dream of a lifetime occurred when Tom Glover went to Tottenham Hotspur for a six-week period at the tender age of fourteen.

In the following year, Glover received a call from Spurs to return so they could have another look at him. After the three-month viewing, he was offered a scholarship.

Tom Glover pursuing his World Cup dream ahead of the 2026 tournament
Tom Glover pursuing his World Cup dream ahead of the 2026 tournament

Glover remained at Spurs for seven years before returning to Australia in August 2019 to sign with Melbourne City.

“I had offers from lower leagues in England, but my preference was to play at the highest level in men’s football because my appearances for Spurs had been confined to the U/21s.

“Therefore, the plan was to play in the A-League and eventually return overseas.”

“On reflection, the experience at Spurs was incredible, especially when I was involved in shooting training with the likes of Harry Kane, who I learned so much from.

“In the goalkeeping department, I was exposed to the legendary Northern Ireland keeper Pat Jennings, former USA and Spurs keeper Brad Friedel, and I also worked with Hugo Lloris, the former French number one.

“Also, to be on the same training ground as superstars Christian Eriksen, Mousa Dembélé and Jan Vertonghen was something, as a young player, you would never think possible.”

Glover’s signing at Melbourne City wasn’t an immediate success because he had to wait from August until December 2019 to claim a first-team place from Dean Bouzanis.

Once that transpired, he never looked back.

In total, Glover made 107 first-team appearances for City before leaving for Middlesbrough in July 2023.

“I really matured as a keeper at Melbourne City and still have many great memories and close friends at the club.

“Nevertheless, the time had arrived when the overseas opportunity came beckoning again.”

Middlesbrough is a club with a proud tradition of Aussie players who have worn its colours proudly, including the immortal Craig Johnston, Mark Schwarzer, Paul Okon, Mark Viduka, Scott McDonald, Luke Wilkshire, Brad Jones, Tony Vidmar, Rhys Williams, and most recently Riley McGree and Sam Silvera.

“Mark Schwarzer even has a pasta named after him which is served in the club canteen, and there is still a photo of him at the training ground.”

At Middlesbrough, Glover didn’t play as much as he would’ve liked but was part of a strong Carabao Cup run when the club reached the semi-finals in January 2024 before being defeated heavily in the second leg by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

“Previously, we had beaten Leicester City 1–0 at the King Power Stadium and gained a 1–0 home win in the first leg against Chelsea.

“However, in the return leg, the Chelsea scoring machine progressed into top gear and put six goals past us, with Cole Palmer scoring two and Enzo Fernández and Morgan Rogers scoring one each.

“There was a touch of irony because I had been a Chelsea supporter since childhood, and playing at Stamford Bridge was a highlight of my career and one I’ll never forget, despite the 6–1 scoreline.”

This was a challenging time for Glover, as he only played 29 matches for the club from July 2023 until September 2025, when he was given a free transfer.

Yet he has no regrets about being at the club, despite his limited game time.

“It was hard to dislodge the first-choice keeper, Sol Brynn, who was a local product and popular with the Middlesbrough supporters.

“Both Michael Carrick, the former manager, and Rob Edwards, the recently departed manager, were always fair with me, and I left the club knowing I had always played to the best of my ability when selected.”

Now Glover has an exciting opportunity with RB Omiya Ardija, which all begins on February 6 when he is scheduled to play 18 matches up to the start of the World Cup Finals commencing on 11 June.

He could’ve gone to Queens Park Rangers but wasn’t guaranteed regular first-team football.

There were also offers from the MLS and the Saudi League.

“I just saw more potential playing in Japan, where football is booming.”

It’s now an exciting prospect for Glover to play every week so he can prove to the Socceroo coaching staff, particularly goalkeeping coach Frank Juric, that he should be selected for the North American colossus.

“Although the club is currently in J-League 2, it has just been bought by the Red Bull Corporation, so there is a great vibe for the future to gain promotion to the J-League.

“The stadium is boutique, holding 15,000, but it feels like 20,000 due to the marvellous atmosphere which the fans create.

“There are five foreigners in the squad, including myself.”

Tom Glover has made thirteen appearances for the Olyroos, being the number-one choice at the Tokyo Olympics, and has attended ten senior Socceroo camps between June 2023 and September 2025.

However, he has not been capped for the Socceroos, but now that he will be playing regularly, he has every chance to make the final squad for North America.

“I can only control from my end by playing every week and putting in good performances to give the selectors a headache in considering me being number one in the squad.”

Certainly, he has stern competition for a place, with Mat Ryan returning to form in Spain, Paul Izzo playing consistently in Denmark, and Patrick Beach experiencing his first taste of international football against Venezuela.

One thing there is no doubt: Tom Glover will do everything in his power to make that World Cup dream come true.

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The A-League’s Mover and Shaker: Can Steve Rosich Kickstart Football’s Next Chapter?

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Could Steve Rosich be the mover and shaker Australian football has been waiting for? From leading the Melbourne Cup to transforming elite sporting clubs, Rosich now takes the reins of the A-Leagues with a powerhouse network of sponsors, a Chartered Accountant’s discipline, and a proven record of turning sports into commercial gold. Is this finally the game-changer football needs to kickstart its next chapter?
Image credit: One Nil Media

When the Australian Professional Leagues confirmed Steve Rosich as the new CEO of the A-Leagues, the football community couldn’t help but ask: Is this the mover and shaker who can finally kickstart the next chapter of our game? Curiosity, cautious optimism, and genuine hope are natural reactions. But after examining his résumé, leadership pedigree, and proven ability to transform sporting organisations into commercial powerhouses, one thing is clear: Steve Rosich has the potential to be exactly what Australian football needs right now.

If we are honest with ourselves, the A-Leagues are not short of passion. They are short of penetration. Football has the numbers, the multicultural breadth, the participation base and the long-term demographic wind behind it. What it has lacked is commercial conviction. This role requires a central figure who can mobilise investment, convince networks, and turn football from the ‘nearly product’ into a genuine entertainment powerhouse.

That is why Rosich’s appointment matters.

A Leader Forged in High Pressure Environments

Rosich does not arrive at the A-Leagues as an experimental project. His leadership record is built across three different elite sporting sectors, each requiring different forms of authority and strategic thinking.

At the Fremantle Dockers, he spent 11 years steering cultural shifts, long-term commercial planning, and stakeholder management in one of the most pressured environments in Australian sport, the AFL. You do not last a decade in that seat unless you can manage ego, media, board tensions, and commercial growth simultaneously.

Then came the Victoria Racing Club, custodian of the Melbourne Cup Carnival, The Race That Stops a Nation. That event is not a sporting fixture. It is a cultural institution. Rosich guided that organisation through pandemic disruption, shrinking tourism, shifting public sentiment, and operational uncertainty. Yet the Melbourne Cup retained its brand, its commercial partners and its relevance. That alone suggests a steady hand and a strategic head.

People forget he also stepped briefly into the medical technology sector with BrainEye, an unusual move but one that shows intellectual range, not a narrow sporting silo. Now he returns to football as CEO of the APL, stepping into the role officially in January 2026.

None of this is theory. It is hard-earned leadership.

The Commercial Rolodex That Matters

Elite sport grows on broadcast relevance, corporate investment, and scalable storytelling. It requires deal-making, not hope.

Rosich brings a corporate phonebook that can activate capital quickly. His longstanding relationships with brands such as Lexus (Toyota Australia), Crown, Kirin Beer, TCL and Howden are not superficial handshakes. They are built on years of commercial execution. If the A-Leagues are serious about revitalising sponsorship, broadcast engagement and experiential entertainment, then having a CEO capable of making the right calls to the right people is half the battle won.

Football does not just need ‘partners.’ It needs investors, activators and cultural amplifiers. Rosich has dealt with those brands before. He understands their expectations. He knows how to pitch ambition in commercial language, not sporting desperation.

If he can even convert a fraction of those relationships into aligned investment, the A-Leagues’ commercial landscape changes overnight.

Professional Discipline Not Just Passion

There is another aspect of Rosich’s appointment that deserves attention: his professional discipline. Rosich is a Chartered Accountant and at Soccerscene, we take that qualification seriously. We have been vocal in calling for Australian football administrators to adopt structured CPD frameworks, including professional standards and continuing education.

He is not a practising accountant, but he continues to uphold his membership by completing his CPD requirements and ongoing training. That signals accountability, standards, governance literacy and a commitment to continuous improvement.

We cannot demand a more professional football industry while accepting outdated administrative habits. Rosich represents the opposite, someone who keeps sharpening the tools rather than dining out on old achievements.

This is what modern sport requires.

The Strategic Assignment Waiting for Him

The football landscape Rosich inherits is not broken, but it is underleveraged.

The next two to three years must focus on:

• Commercial rebirth
• Fan-first narrative building
• Broadcast evolution
• International relevance
• Club alignment and industry unity

This requires a CEO who can think beyond short-term firefighting. Rosich has overseen environments where stakeholder diplomacy decides survival. He knows how to run a league as both an economic organism and a cultural asset.

And importantly, he understands that football cannot win hearts without winning the market.

A-League Football Needs a Catalyst Not a Caretaker

For too long, we have accepted incrementalism in football. Growth that is “good enough.” Strategic plans that tick boxes rather than punch holes through barriers.

The next chapter requires a catalyst, someone comfortable being a lightning rod for change.

Rosich does not need to pretend to be a lifelong football romantic. What he needs to be, and what his track record suggests he is, is a sports entertainment strategist. A deal-maker. A leader who knows how to change the expectation curve.

If he digs deep into his contact book, leverages his credibility and builds a unifying narrative around the game, then investment can return, broadcast value can lift, and the A-Leagues can finally behave like the entertainment product Australia keeps saying it wants.

A Final Assessment

Steve Rosich arrives with pressure on his shoulders. Great leaders need pressure.

He arrives with expectations. Football has waited long enough.

Most importantly, he arrives with the capacity to change the commercial gravity of the code.

If Australian football is serious about unlocking its next era, then we should back a leader who has already turned major sporting properties into economic brands.

In short, Rosich might be the right person at exactly the right time, and for a code that has spent decades asking for belief, that is a very encouraging starting point.

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