Alissa is Russia 2006 mascot

It is a common practice for any global sporting event especially football, to have a mascot and Russia 2006 is not any diferent, reports nigeriasports.com.

The mascot, meant to bring a lot of colour and laughter to the competition, is a little fox called Alissa.

Alissa, a common feature in the Russian childre's literature, is said to possess a lot of beauty, craftiness, intelligence and speed, a trait it shares with many Russian young footballers.

Alissa is female as it is a celebration of a female festival of football and the championship holds from the 17th August- Sept 3rd.

Nigeria is one of the participating teams.