The World Cup 2026 Pregame Tradition

The World Cup 2026 is officially here, marking the return of a beloved pregame ritual. If you've ever watched the opening ceremonies of a soccer match, you've probably noticed this sweet detail: the players always walk onto the field holding the hands of kids, who are dressed like an adorable little squad themselves. Or maybe you've seen one of the many videos that's gone viral, featuring a cute moment between a young fan and a soccer hero as they stand together on the field. Regardless, it always makes me tear up. There's something incredibly pure and heartwarming about watching the younger generation escort their heroes and role models onto the biggest global stage. But how did the longstanding tradition responsible for cleaning me out of Kleenex even begin? The children who walk out with the players are called player escorts or mascot children, and they've been part of soccer games for well over 20 years now. One of the earliest photos of children walking as mascots was published in the Liverpool Echo after a November 1996 match between Liverpool and Everton. The practice as it is today began around 2000, with one escort for each player, rather than just one or two per team. Early on, the practice of having children escort the players doubled as a way to raise awareness for charitable causes. Ahead of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, FIFA and UNICEF partnered on a program called Say Yes For Children, which aimed to promote and protect the right of all children to healthy recreation and quality primary education. McDonald's became a key sponsor of the mascot program at the World Cup and European Championships, offering parents and children a chance to enter a sweepstakes to win one of those coveted spots. In 2014, McDonald's reportedly sent 1,400 kids from 70 different countries to the World Cup in Brazil. At the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, sponsor Commonwealth Bank created the CommBank FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 Player Escort Program, which featured 1,500 children between the ages of 6 and 10 accompanying players onto the pitch before matches throughout the tournament. In other cases, however, being a mascot might be as simple as paying the price tag. A 2018 investigation by The Guardian revealed that a large number of Premier League teams had been using the mascot program without proper sponsorship or oversight.