You're reading: Will whistle make its way into Euro 2012 games?

A contest entry to become Ukraine’s unofficial mascot during the Euro 2012 soccer tournament has drawn comparisons with the controversial South African vuvuzela horn made popular during the 2010 World Cup for its loud sound.

The mascot’s inventors have positioned the cuckoo bird-shaped clay whistle as a cultural branding opportunity for Ukraine.

But entrepreneurs must have one eye on a potential repeat of the commercial success of the plastic vuvuzelas, which generated an estimated $20 million for their primarily Chinese manufacturers.

We want visitors to leave having discovered some of Ukraine’s historic heritage and not just associations with Chornobyl or (footballer Andriy) Shevchenko.”

– Oleksandr Kucheriaviy, one of the zozulytsia’s creators.

Called zozulytsia, the whistle is the brainchild of seven Ukrainian graduates from the International Federation of Football Associations’ master’s program in Kyiv, run by a Swiss university.

Oleksandr Kucheriaviy, one of the creators, said the instrument had a soft, pleasant sound, unlike the irritatingly loud squeak of the vuvuzela.

In his Kyiv Post blog, Kucheriaviy said the zozulytsia dates back 7,000 years to the Trypillian civilization, a people who are part of both Ukrainian and Polish history.

“We want visitors to leave having discovered some of Ukraine’s historic heritage and not just associations with Chornobyl or (footballer Andriy) Shevchenko,” Kucheriaviy told the Kyiv Post on Jan. 25.

With tens of thousands of fans set to descend on the country for the Euro 2012 tournament, which is less than 500 days away, pundits have speculated that the instrument could be a popular souvenir.

The Ukrainian Euro 2012 Information Agency, organizers of the contest to find an unofficial mascot, said they expect to announce the winner from more than 100 entries by the end of January.