Skillzy, described by UEFA as a "larger-than-life character inspired by freestyling, street and panna culture", was unveiled as the official Euro 2020 mascot in March 2019.
The freestyle-loving humanoid is intended to be an interactive mascot who unites football fans from various countries and cultures.
Skillzy was unveiled alongside British professional freestyler Liv Cooke and Norwegian freestyle footballer Tobias Becs in Amsterdam two years ago.
The event was part of UEFA’s ‘Your Move’ campaign and was held at the Johan Cruyff Arena, home of Ajax.
It has been suggested that Skillzy was designed with Cruyff, a Netherlands legend, in mind.
“We wanted to move away from the traditional mascot that we have seen at previous UEFA Euros in order to create a symbol that is able to interact more closely with football fans across the continent,” said Guy-Laurent Epstein, marketing director of UEFA Events SA.
“It is important that UEFA appeals to football fans of all ages, and by creating a mascot which is actually able to physically play the game we all love, this will inspire youngsters from Dublin to Baku to try and emulate the tricks that Skillzy, Liv Cooke and Tobias Becs are able to master.”
As the Euro 2020 mascot, Skillzy follows a proud tradition which has seen mascots present at the European Championship since Euro 1980 in Italy.
At Euro 2016, the cape-wearing Super Victor was unable to get France over the line, as the hosts lost to Portugal in the final.
Skillzy might be a distant relative of Trix and Flix, the pair of mascots created for Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine.
He is likely to be showing off his technique at the opening game of Euro 2020 between Italy and Turkey on June 11.
Skillzy is set for a busy few weeks, with Euro 2020 being staged in 11 different countries as part of UEFA’s pan-continental format.
