Player escort

Child accompanying a footballer onto the pitch

Player escorts with the Austrian national team before a friendly against Greece in 2013.

Player escort (also called match mascot or child mascot) is a child who accompanies a football player entering the pitch. Player escorts hold hands with the footballer while they walk in and stay with the player during the playing of the national anthem. The children are usually between 6 and 18 years old. In addition to assisting players, they often have duties such as carrying flags, helping the sideline ball crew and playing matches with each other. However today there are various reasons why players walk in with children. These include promoting children's rights campaigns, bringing the element of innocence to the game, fulfilling children's dreams or making profit off it, and reminding players that children are looking up to them.[1] It also deters hooliganism or other forms of violence, as fans would be less likely to throw anything at players if they were with children. [1]

## History

[edit]

This tradition emerged in Brazil, in the 1970s. The idea came from Ronan Ramos Oliveira, who at the time was public relations director at Clube Atlético Mineiro. On September 5, 1976, in a match between the clubs Atlético Mineiro and América Mineiro, he suggested that children go to the field with the team's players. The interesting thing here is that, at the beginning, the selected children had to be lookalikes of a player. The action was also a strategy for more families to start attending the games.

The UEFA Euro 2000 was one of the first major events where player escorts appeared with every footballer, replacing the previous practice where the players on the team linked arms with each other.[1] In club games children are usually members of youth teams or contest winners.[2] Since 2002, World Cup or European Championship escorts are selected in a competition hosted by McDonald's and Lidl (for UEFA EURO 2024), sponsor of the event.[3][4]

Being a child mascot may or may not be free. Among FA Premier League clubs, some may charge £350-£600 depending on the fixture while others offer some free places through competitions and charities, and other clubs do not have a charge at all.[5]

On some occasions, there can be special escorts. For example, Ajax players walked out with their mothers on Mother's Day[6] and São Paulo FC players walked out with dogs to promote the adoption of stray dogs within São Paulo.[7] Some famous players like Wayne Rooney used to be player escorts in their childhood.[8]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c Ivan Anich (October 7, 2015). "Why Do Soccer Players Walk Out With Kids?". The18. Archived from the original on August 12, 2020. Retrieved June 7, 2025.
2. ^ Felicia Clow (September 21, 2015). "Why Do Football Players Walk Out With Children?". whoareyadesigns. Archived from the original on May 18, 2016.
3. ^ "The McDonald's Player Escort Programme". FIFA. Archived from the original on June 22, 2016.
4. ^ "McDonald's Launches Search for UEFA EURO 2016™ Player Escorts". McDonald's. February 29, 2016. Archived from the original on July 4, 2018. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
5. ^ Riach, James (18 December 2014). "Revealed: Premier League clubs charge up to £600 for children to be mascots". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 4 September 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
6. ^ Dan Quarrell (May 10, 2015). "Ajax players walk out with their mums on Mother's Day". Eurosport.
7. ^ Will Magee (September 30, 2015). "Sao Paulo players accompanied onto pitch by very odd mascots ahead of Palmeiras match". The Mirror. Archived from the original on September 4, 2021. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
8. ^ Lorna Hughes (September 10, 2015). "Revealed: The other mascot with Wayne Rooney at 1996 Merseyside Derby". Liverpool Echo. Archived from the original on June 7, 2025. Retrieved June 7, 2025.

## External links

[edit]

* Media related to player escorts at Wikimedia Commons