<p>World football's governing body FIFA has released a statement defending its selection process for naming the 2014 World Cup mascot.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Brazilian fans have been critical of FIFA's decision to force the public to choose between three names selected by an independent panel, reports Xinhua.<br />The names - Amijubi, Fuleco and Zuzeco - have this week been put to a public vote in Brazil's media.<br /><br />"When the original plan was drafted we thought about having an open system in which the public could suggest names," the FIFA statement said Friday.<br /><br />"However it was impossible to put this process into practice due to the complexity of legislation regarding intellectual property."<br /><br />FIFA earlier said the names had been coined by a panel of experts who used fusions of Portuguese words meaning joy, ecology, football and blue.<br /><br />An online petition calling for a more democratic approach to the naming of the mascot - a rare Brazilian species of armadillo - received 30,000 signatures by Saturday morning.</p>
<p>World football's governing body FIFA has released a statement defending its selection process for naming the 2014 World Cup mascot.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Brazilian fans have been critical of FIFA's decision to force the public to choose between three names selected by an independent panel, reports Xinhua.<br />The names - Amijubi, Fuleco and Zuzeco - have this week been put to a public vote in Brazil's media.<br /><br />"When the original plan was drafted we thought about having an open system in which the public could suggest names," the FIFA statement said Friday.<br /><br />"However it was impossible to put this process into practice due to the complexity of legislation regarding intellectual property."<br /><br />FIFA earlier said the names had been coined by a panel of experts who used fusions of Portuguese words meaning joy, ecology, football and blue.<br /><br />An online petition calling for a more democratic approach to the naming of the mascot - a rare Brazilian species of armadillo - received 30,000 signatures by Saturday morning.</p>