World Cup 2026 with 48 Teams Presents the Biggest Challenge Yet for Panini Sticker Collectors
Axios (Tổng hợp từ Al Jazeera English)
Panini's World Cup 2026 sticker album requires 980 unique stickers, including 68 special ones, making it the most challenging collection ever. With 48 teams in the tournament, completing the album could cost over £1,000.
For generations of football fans, a World Cup would not be complete without the thrill of ripping open a packet of Panini stickers and finding legends like Zico, Franz Beckenbauer, Diego Maradona or Lionel Messi staring back at them.
Ever since Panini released its first sticker collection for the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, striving for—and often failing at—completing the album has become an obsession for young fans worldwide, with playground swaps a must.
This year's tournament, hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, poses the greatest challenge yet, demanding a significant pocket-money outlay. With 48 teams competing in June and July—the biggest World Cup ever—980 unique stickers, including 68 “special” ones, are needed to fill the 112-page album, which goes on sale from Thursday.
Each packet of seven stickers retails for £1.25 ($1.69) in the United Kingdom, meaning even with perfect luck and no duplicates, 140 packets (costing £175) are required. Statistically, however, more than 1,000 packets may be needed to secure every player in the album, amounting to an outlay of around £1,000 ($1,351).
Panini's largest-ever collection was unveiled at a special event at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday, featuring former England players David James, John Barnes and Gary Cahill, who reminisced about their own sticker-chasing days.
“Growing up collecting Panini stickers, swapping with friends in the playground, and trying to complete the album each tournament, I have always seen the album as the real marker that a World Cup is starting!” said former Chelsea defender Cahill. “Seeing myself in the collection while I was playing was a surreal and proud moment, and a reminder that these stickers become part of the story of each World Cup.”
Panini said it will host a live “swap shop” in May across the United Kingdom, giving collectors a chance to hunt down their favourite players, while a “Sticker Bus” will tour the country handing out free packets and albums.
When the World Cup is over, it may also be wise to store duplicates in the attic, as the vintage sticker market is growing. In 2021, a 1979 Panini sticker of Maradona, then aged 19, sold at auction for £470,000 (about $556,000 at the time).
