Sticker Album Sales Explode
Global Sales Boom for Panini Sticker Album Leads to Armed Escorts for Deliveries
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The 2026 FIFA World Cup sticker album has become a global phenomenon so intense that Panini is now moving product under armed escort. The Italian collectibles giant confirmed to SPORT that sales have doubled those of the record-breaking Qatar 2022 tournament, emptying shelves across Europe and Latin America within hours of each restock.
To keep up, Panini's Modena factory is running 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Trucks carrying stickers from Italy to Spain and France now travel in daily convoys. In parts of Latin America, those trucks reportedly move with armed security to prevent theft — a precaution once reserved for electronics or cash.
A 980-Sticker Album That Broke the Supply Chain
The 2026 album is the largest in Panini's 56-year World Cup history. The expanded 48-team format means collectors need 980 unique stickers to fill 112 pages — a 46% jump from the 2022 edition. The Guardian calculated that a single collector buying packs alone, without trading, could spend over £1,000 (roughly $1,270) to finish the album.
Juan Pedro MartÃnez, Panini's Editorial Director, told COPE that the shortage is not a marketing trick. "It is a genuine problem of massive demand," he said. The company's own online store hung a "Not Available" sign for World Cup products by mid-May. Kiosks in Spain and Portugal reported zero stock for days at a time, according to Libertad Digital.
Counterfeit Stickers Fund Organized Crime in Brazil
The shortage has created a booming black market. In late May, Civil Police in Rio de Janeiro seized 200,000 counterfeit stickers in a single raid, along with thousands of fake jerseys, according to AFP. Authorities warned that profits from fake stickers are being funneled into larger criminal networks across South America.
The high price of official packs — around $1.69 for just seven stickers in some markets — is pushing lower-income buyers toward dangerous fakes. In February, Panini Mexico had already issued fraud alerts about fake online storefronts running "ghost pre-sales," according to Soy Fútbol.
LluÃs Torrent: 'We Were Overwhelmed by Our Own Forecasts'
LluÃs Torrent, Director General of Panini España and Portugal, gave a series of interviews in early June to address the chaos. He told SPORT that the company was "overwhelmed by the most optimistic forecasts." Panini has now shifted from sea freight to faster daily truck convoys to speed up restocking across Iberia and France.
Torrent had previously joked that "if stickers were worth millions, we would come to work with machine guns." That quip now looks more like prophecy, according to VIA Empresa. The company's projected net sales for the 2026 cycle stand at $1.48 billion — more than double the $720 million earned during Qatar 2022, per The Athletic.
Fanatics Waits in the Wings as Panini's Era Peaks
The 2026 boom may be Panini's last great hurrah. Fanatics, the American sports merchandise giant led by CEO Michael Rubin, has already secured the FIFA sticker license starting in 2031. Panini is currently suing Fanatics in an antitrust case, arguing the company is building a "monopoly" over the sports collectibles market, according to Sports Business Journal.
For now, rare stickers featuring players like Messi or Lamine Yamal are already selling for hundreds of euros on eBay. Collectors in Madrid's El Rastro market have abandoned shops to trade face to face, creating what analysts call a "secondary barter economy." The physical sticker is not dead — but 2026 may be its last peak.
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