The fever for the World Cup stickers boosts Panini's forecasts

BarcelonaJust over a week ago, the World Cup began with a new format, arguably the most demanding of all. The final phase of the tournament has more teams than ever – it has gone from 32 to 48 selections – more matches – from 64 to 104 in total – and a new record for geographical extension encompassing the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with the long travel that this entails for national teams. Before the first inaugural match, however, another competition – equally demanding this year – was taking place all over the world: completing the Panini World Cup sticker album.

The success of this year's collection has been undeniable. The vast majority of Catalan kiosks and stationery shops confirm that more stickers are being sold this year than ever before. Sales go beyond the usual shops, reaching sweet shops, bazaars, and even frozen food establishments. Days before the start of the competition, many places had sold out all their stock and were waiting for the album's manufacturing and distribution company, the Italian Panini, to supply them with more boxes. All this, while customers impatiently asked if the shops already had stickers or when more would arrive. This year's collection includes 980 stickers, while each pack – sold at 1.5 euros – contains 7 players. Thus, completing the entire album without getting any duplicates costs 210 euros.

, which at the time was already the most successful global campaign for the company.

From the group's headquarters in the Iberian Peninsula, they confirm the World Cup fever. At the company's facilities in Torroella de Montgrí (Baix Empordà), the phones "are buzzing," explains Torrent. And at Panini's production centers – stickers are only manufactured in Italy and Brazil, Catalonia acts as a distribution center – work is non-stop. "We manufacture in three eight-hour shifts, meaning 24 hours," indicates the general director, who assures that, after the initial stock shortage, the arrival of boxes loaded with packets to stores has returned to normal.

With the explosion of these past few weeks, Panini's subsidiary in Spain expects to surpass past sales and profits. According to data from the mercantile registry, turnover in 2025 stood at 93 million euros and profits in 2024 (latest available fiscal year) at 4.8 million euros. "We are in mid-June and there are more than six months left to finish the year, [...] but it's clear that selling more means earning more," comments Torrent. Now with the World Cup already started and stocks replenished, the company is confident in maintaining the initial momentum and continuing to attract young and old. "I don't think it will affect us much [the initial lack of stickers]," he opines.

Besides the World Cup collections, the general director of the Iberian subsidiary also highlights the success of La Liga stickers and the more than sixty collections that Panini promotes each year, from Dragon Ball or Marvel to Disney.

End of agreement with FIFA

The 2026 World Cup collection will probably be the last to feature figures like Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, but also one of Panini's last for a World Cup event. From 2031, after the 2030 World Cup in Spain, Portugal, and Morocco, the exclusive license for the commercialization of FIFA cards and stickers will go to the American firm Fanatics. The company already owns the rights to collectibles from competitions such as the North American basketball league (NBA) or the American football league (NFL).

In this way, FIFA and Panini are ending a relationship of more than fifty years that began with the exclusivity to commercialize the 1970 World Cup album in Mexico. Regarding the decision of the highest body of world football, Torrent admits to being "calm" and downplays the matter. "We continue to grow, it's non-stop," he says.

At the same time, he throws a small dart at the competition and FIFA with his decision. "Sticker collections are so simple that they are also very complicated to make. [...] People always ask what the secret of Coca-Cola is: many drinks are made, but in the end, it's Coca-Cola that works. We are very calm," he maintains.