Dushanbe, 22.10.2016. /NIAT “Khovar”/. A wolf has been chosen as mascot of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, according to the results of public voting announced live in the «Vecherny Urgant» TV program on Channel One on Saturday. The wolf will be named Zabivaka, TASS reports.

Public voting was launched on September 23 on FIFA’s official website and social networks and closed at 10:18pm Dushanbe time on Thursday. On Friday, people could also cast their votes for a mascot on the Channel One’s official website.

The campaign on choosing a mascot kicked off in April 2015 with voting for possible characters. Over 50,000 young fans took part in voting and chose ten most popular characters. At the second stage of the campaign, students of arts colleges across the country came into play, attempting to «bring to life» these characters.

The author of the wolf mascot is Yekaterina Bocharova, student at the Tomsk State University’s graphic design college. Among finalists of the voting are also a cat and a tiger.