A staple of match days since the 90’s, Mascots are generally accepted as a fun and endearing way to keep kids engaged. 

Some though, have a tougher task than others. Is it hard to get the people on your side if you look like the result of a particularly vicious fever dream? Yes, but these lot have given it their best shot anyway. So without further ado, here are ten of the strangest mascots from the world of football. 

Tijuana -Xolo Mayor

He may have a look reminiscent of an Eastern European street fighter but Xolo Mayor has proved a popular figure since the club were founded in 2006. He’s even on Twitter, apparently.

Southend United - Sammy the shrimp

Introducing Southend’s bleached out monstrosity, Sammy the shrimp. His look has been updated a little since this picture was taken but there aren’t many ways to try and make an 8 foot shrimp appealing

Chivas USA - ChivaFighter

Back to North America for another absolutely terrifying mascot. It’s a shame Chiva Fighter is no more following Chivas USA’s demise back in 2014. The potential for a CONCACAF clash between the camo jacket toting goat and Tijuana’s Xolo Mayor would have been a hell of a match up. 

Schalke 04 - Erwin

Official sources state that Erwin is apparently a coal miner, which in no way explains why he looks like that. Erwin briefly made headlines in his homeland back in 2017, when he showed the referee a red card following a particularly heated Revierderby clash.

Partick Thistle - Kingsley

The zenith of weird footballing mascots, Kingsley, is the brainchild of renowned artist David Shrigley. Presumably the Partick Thistle board of directors had hoped that recruiting a figure of Shrigley’s notoriety would be good for the clubs publicity, and they weren’t wrong.

Perth Glory - George the gorilla 

Oof, where to start with George the gorilla. The bastard love child of a gorilla and an Oompa Loompa, George has been roaming the Perth touch line for over a decade. He’s quite popular, apparently.

Wigan - Crusty the Pie

A newcomer to the world of bizarre mascots, Crusty the Pie was introduced at the start of the 2019/20 season and is a celebration of Wigan’s love for pie, basically. He’s gone down a storm so far.

Burton Albion - Billie and Betty Brewer

With the look of a couple of badly drawn Dennis the Menace characters, Billie and Betty have been haunting the dreams of the youth of Burton for a decade now.

Real Valladolid - Pucelo

To celebrate the city’s rich cultural heritage, Real Valladolid spent a stint in the 90’s with Pucelo,  chronically unstable castle man. He would strut around the sidelines alongside Pepe, a wolf type creature. It was all gloriously weird.

Borussia Mönchengladbach - Jünter

Really cannot blame this kid for wanting to look anywhere other than at the giant foal looming over him. But Jünter, with his name drawing inspiration from legendary player Gunter Netzer, is a part of the furniture at Gladbach. Whether it’s his column in the clubs magazine or his match reports on the clubs website, Jünter is everywhere.

Words by Andy Gallagher