The wolf, unveiled to the public early Saturday after a month of online voting, prevailed over a cat and a tiger dressed in a space suit after receiving more than half the votes. 

The mascot -- named "Zabivaka", which in Russian means "one who scores" -- was presented on a popular late-night show on Pervy Kanal state television.

More than one million people voted in the contest following what FIFA said was "the most engaging creative process" for selecting an official mascot in its history. 

Russia is set to host the 2018 World Cup in 11 cities including Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Sochi.