Simple idea became a global sensation!
THE origins of the global brand started in Modena, Italy in 1961 when the Panini brothers launched the first collectable football sticker album which they called “Calciatori” which literally translates to “Footballers”.
In the 1966 FIFA World Cup, I collected commemorative stamps but it wasn’t until the 1970 World Cup that Panini’s idea went global with the first official FIFA World Cup sticker album. It was a huge success and a copy in immaculate condition sold in 2023 for £2,000 and one complete 1970 album, signed by Pele, fetched a record £10,450.
After the global success, Panini stickers really took off in Europe with the launch of a Euro Football album in 1977, with part of the success being self-adhesive stickers consigning the messy glue pots to history. At the time “Shoot” magazine was popular and it signed a deal with Panini giving away a blank album in the magazine which instantly reached millions of young collectors.
In 1978 it launched a domestic league album dedicated to English and Scottish clubs but Third and Fourth Division clubs, including Hartlepool United, did not appear until 1981 and 1994. If you have a genuine Pools sticker it is as rare as the proverbial rocking horse manure!
The price I seem to recall in 1994 was 20p for a sealed packet of five stickers which never seemed to contain the one you sought. That started a culture of swapping in schoolyards across the UK which, by 1987, sales had reached 100million in the UK alone
Research reveals that the album price was deliberately kept at a relatively low price of 50p but, with many containing over 400 blank spaces for your stickers, it was clear where the money could be made.
But Panini has now changed from a family owned Italian business, from 1961-88, when it was sold to the English media mogul Robert Maxwell who held on to it until 1992. It then returned to Italy for two years, owned by the De Agostini Publishing company, and then on to America, purchased by the comic giant Marvel Entertainment Group for $150million.
But life is like a big wheel and, once again, the sticker company returned to Italy, owned by two sisters Anna and Teresa Baroni, directors of a privately owned company. In 2024, the sisters sold their company to a Luxembourg based investment company Seta Holdings before it returned to Italy and the tech firm Matica Fintec for £24million.
If you are planning to collect the 2026 FIFA World Cup album, the prices may well shock collectors. A starter packet of seven stickers, including an album, is about £5 and a six packet multi pack, released on 30th April, is £7.50. The 2026 album has 112 pages and spaces for 980 stickers which, even with my limited and basic knowledge of mathematics, could cost thousands of pounds to get the complete collection.
However my attention was drawn to an advert on Ebay offering a pre-order set of 2026 stickers and album – with an added condition that not all 980 stickers will be included due to the situation and participation of Iran. Price ranged from £110 to £210 from a “trusted seller” with 100% positive feedback.
From a 20p packet of stickers via multi-million pound takeovers to a golden album in 2026, the Panini Family would never have imagined such a simple idea would become a global sensation.
Author: John
Author of Around The World In 80 Years