What's the meaning of a mascot?
UEFA women's Euros 2025 mascot Maddli is a very different proposition to the 2022 tournament's mascots Kai, Ashley and Robyn
Tournament mascots have long had an important role to play in sport, helping to position an event, convey a set of values, or being used to engage new audiences.
The UEFA 2022 women’s Euros mascots were arguably among the most powerful we have seen in recent times, especially for the way in which they captured football’s zeitgeist.
Launched within Roblox - a virtual world - the mascots immediately took us away from the plush toys and pin badges that any people commonly associate with mascots.
Nevertheless, for digitally savvy Gen Z and Alpha football fans, this move would have made perfect sense.
So too for marketing experts within UEFA who were presumably looking to drive next generation fan engagement.
Yet Kai, Ashley and Robyn were much more than a demographic play, they captured the essence of what football thought was important at the time.
Kai (the intelligent one), Ashley (the strong one) and Robyn (the skilful one) served both as inspirational role models for girls and as androgynous figures that might also appeal to boys, perhaps even men, as well as those who identified their gender in other ways.
As the drive towards diversity and inclusion intensified, it seemed like these three figures had opened the door to a new way of thinking about mascots.
Maddli - the mascot for this year’s UEFA women’s Euros - is a rather different proposition.
The mascot’s name was inspired by Madeleine Boll, the first female licensed footballer in Switzerland.
According to UEFA’s website, Maddli is intended to be a spirited Saint Bernard puppy with a big heart and bigger dreams.
The website goes onto remind us that Saint Bernards are renowned rescue dogs from Switzerland, admired for their bravery and gentle nature.
Clearly, there was an underpinning logic that underpinned Maddli’s launch, though her conception takes us firmly back towards plush toy, albeit safe, territory.
One reason for this could be concerns about the complexity and sensitivity of conditions in which football currently operates.
The re-election of Donald Trump and his subsequent rolling back of DEI programmes may have dictated a safer approach to mascot development, especially as several of the 2025 Euros sponsors are US corporations.
At the same time, deepening conflict in the Middle East has sharpened attitudes towards risk and the potential for dissonant communications.
Maddli is certainly cute, but there are some harsh realities that lie behind her fluffy exterior.
Footnote
The above images were sourced from https://www.uefa.com