Panini World Cup sticker albums will cease to exist after the centenary finals in 2030, following FIFA’s announcement of a fresh partnership on Thursday.
FIFA’s relationship with Panini already spans more than five decades, with the inaugural World Cup sticker collection released before the 1970 tournament in Mexico, and will have hit the 60-year milestone by 2030.
Nevertheless, FIFA revealed on Thursday that it had expanded its deal with Fanatics to encompass collectibles, covering FIFA competitions and events from 2031 onwards, as per The Mirror.
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The sticker collections proved immensely popular, with one complete 1970 album fetching over £10,000 ($13,554 at the current exchange rate) in 2017.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino said: “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.”
Fanatics chief executive Michael Rubin stated: “This is truly a historic day in our company’s history. Global football is the biggest growth opportunity in sports, and when you combine the power of FIFA with the innovation and entrepreneurial backbone of Fanatics, together we’re poised to elevate storytelling and collectibles around the game in a way that’s never been seen before.”
Panini had secured an agreement with FIFA back in December 2023 to continue as its exclusive partner for official stickers, trading cards, trading-card games and digital collectibles, covering this summer’s World Cup, the 2030 tournament and the 2027 Women’s World Cup, along with a host of other FIFA tournaments and events.
Panini has been reached out to for comment.
