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Parents could have to shell out more than £2,000 to fill their children’s World Cup sticker albums – after Panini released an updated set including the likes of Brazilian icon Neymar Jr.
With an increased 48 teams competing at football’s premium event this summer, there are more players and, thereby, stickers than ever for supporters to collect.
In total, after adding more than 120 cards featuring the likes of Neymar and Manuel Neuer on the eve of the tournament, Panini’s book features 980 stickers. This includes 68 ‘special’ editions for stars such as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Individual packets of seven retail at British stores for £1.25, meaning that even with almost implausible luck, buyers would have to fork out £175 to complete the 112-page album.
However it has been estimated that, for those lacking such good fortune, it could cost as much as £2,000 to find every single player included in the popular sticker book.
Sticker collecting has long been a feature of the World Cup for fans. In 2021, a 1979 Panini sticker of Maradona sold for an extraordinary £470,000 at auction.
Parents could have to shell out more than £2,000 to complete the Panini World Cup sticker book this summer
The albums have become hugely popular over the course of the firm’s half-century partnership with FIFA
Meanwhile, a completed 1970 album – the first collection released by Panini – sold for some £10,000 in 2017.
But the Panini albums will become consigned to the history books in 2030, after FIFA announced a partnership with a rival firm last month.
The governing body revealed that it had extended an agreement with Fanatics to cover collectibles, including its tournaments and events from 2031.
The firm is the parent company of collectibles brand Topps, which will produce exclusive FIFA stickers from that year after the long-term licensing deal was signed.
Gianni Infantino said at the time: ‘Across the sports landscape, we see that Fanatics are driving massive innovation in collectibles that provides fans with a new, meaningful way to engage with their favourite teams and with their favourite players.
‘So, from Fifa’s point of view, we can globalise that fan engagement precisely thanks to our global tournament portfolio. And this provides another important commercial revenue stream that we channel back, as always, into the game, into football.’
Rising sticker prices come amid criticism over ticket prices at this summer’s event which, in some cases, are on sale for thousands.
As of earlier this week, the few remaining tickets for the final at New York’s MetLife Stadium were listed for as much as £24,600 leaving the majority of supporters totally priced out.
It has meant that FIFA faces seats being left empty, particularly during the group stage.
However the company estimated that it could generate some £2.24billion from ticket and hospitality sales throughout the tournament. That is three times the figure achieved at the World Cup in Qatar.
FIFA has maintained its ticket approach covered ‘a broad range of price points’ but, following widespread criticism, ultimately made a number of cheaper tickets available at the last minute.
Which England star has 7 GCSEs? Who has lost half of his finger? Test your knowledge of Thomas Tuchel’s squad with our exclusive quiz HERE.
