The Panini World Cup 2022 sticker album has been released – but collectors will probably have to spend a lot more than they realise to fill it up!
Football fans have been collecting stickers for more than 50 years and this popular hobby is relaunched for every World Cup.
The first World Cup edition in the UK was launched for the 1970 tournament in Mexico and in those days, a pack of four stickers would cost about 5 pence each. Now, with packs containing an extra sticker, they will set fans back at least 90 pence.
Kieran Maguire, author and football finance expert has said there are 670 stickers to collect for this year’s album and assuming they were all bought in one go it would cost £120.60. However, he explained that based on probability, its more likely to set collectors back £883.80!
Mr Maguire told Sky News he first started collecting the stickers in 1970 and he still does even now!
“I first collected in 1970 but did not have a full set as I did not have enough pocket money,” he said.
He explained that “there was a sharp rise in price in 2018 from 50 pence to 80 pence and a further one from 80 pence to 90 pence in 2022” for a pack of stickers.
It doesn’t look as though the price is going to drop any time soon, and Mr Maguire warns it could reach £1,500 in 2026.
“When the World Cup increases to 48 teams in 2026 from the current 32, the cost of filling an album will be at least £1,500 unless you resort to swaps,” he said. “Fortunately, there are many online swap websites around these days that help to reduce costs.”
