The World Cup is usually framed through fixtures, squads and stadiums. Yet the collecting tradition is reportedly gaining fresh momentum in North America, where the expanded tournament has given fans a bigger album to complete.
The current collection reportedly includes:
Panini’s World Cup collection dates back to the 1970 finals in Mexico, but its appeal now stretches well beyond football’s traditional strongholds.
Buying packs is only the beginning. The real social currency is the swap: the duplicate sticker in one collector’s hand may be the missing piece in another’s album.
A reported exchange across four sites in the US and Mexico drew 4,446 people during an eight-hour event. In Burnaby, British Columbia, Pazmino and his son Felipe reportedly spent four weekends trading at a shopping mall, using an app, paper lists and memory to track their progress.
Pazmino’s family eventually found its final missing sticker, a detail that underlines the emotional payoff. “You can feel the joy, the vibe, the energy,” he said.
For Renan Prado, who grew up swapping stickers in Brazil, the hobby offers a way to reconnect with childhood after moving to Canada. His Vancouver collector group has reportedly grown sharply, showing how online communities are turning a private pastime into a public ritual.
Greg Lansdowne, author of *Panini Legends*, has noted that sports cards remain dominant in North America, but rare parallel stickers have helped Panini create a distinct niche.
As the 2026 World Cup approaches, the next storyline will not only be which team lifts the trophy. It will also be how many albums are completed-and how many friendships begin over the final missing sticker.