The long-standing tradition of Panini World Cup stickers is back with less than 100 days to go before the start of Qatar 2022! Here’s what you need to know about this year’s edition.
Sticker fans, rejoice!
The long-awaited 2022 FIFA World Cup Panini stickers will be released Wednesday, Aug. 24 in North America as sticker collectors across the globe look to complete their albums.
For the first time ever, the U.S. version of the soccer stickers will include limited edition parallels — much like what you see with sports trading cards — within packs.
Gold edition stickers are only available on Panini America’s website and are different from the usual white-border stickers. Other parallels come in blue, red, purple, green and black.
Who’s ready for #FIFAWorldCupQatar2022 !? The official sticker collection releases tomorrow (8/24) nationwide in the US and Canada!! This year the product has SP parallels to collect! List of retail locations to follow! 🗒✍🏼#whodoyoucollect #FIFA #FIFAWorldCup #fifaworldcup2022 pic.twitter.com/fVgy1HpZYV
— Panini America (@PaniniAmerica) August 23, 2022
World Cup Panini stickers set, explained
The 80-page album features 670 stickers — 50 of them silver foil — and can be purchased at retail locations across the United States and Canada. The stickers feature 18 players from each of the 32 nations that qualified for the finals.
Panini, based in Italy, first introduced a World Cup sticker album ahead of the 1970 World Cup. Since then, it has captivated collectors across the planet.
The World Cup, which kicks off on Nov. 20, will be contested in Qatar. It is the first time the World Cup will be played in the winter and in the Middle East.
World Cup stickers have become increasingly popular in the United States over the last few years, especially at a time when the overall sports collectibles market has seen a spike in interest during the pandemic.
Collectors who need to complete their albums often go to the secondary market — places like the online auction site eBay or Facebook Marketplace — to buy stickers or seek out in order to trade.
Twitter was abuzz with collectors waiting to buy packs.
https://twitter.com/MrPassmore/status/1562114779535253504
Who is planning on collecting the Panini World Cup sticker album when it drops next week? Will be looking for do some swaps with mutuals, maybe set up a group chat where we can all post what we need and have etc.
— blake (@blake2108) August 16, 2022
Just warning it’s 90p a pack now. Needs nationalising imo.
https://twitter.com/venezio71/status/1559816468707086336
Some lucky fans had already got their hands on some.
One of the best things in a World Cup fever is this! The official #Panini stickers album https://t.co/p3QGYOl8Ng
— BabaGol (@BabaGol_) August 20, 2022
So just opened my first pack of #panini World Cup stickers as found in my boys Kick Magazine (a couple of weeks before the launch date), and they’re tiny! No big names, but noticed they’re back to the standard rectangular design. #GotGotNeed pic.twitter.com/aLlCStpTdV
— Nick @ Footy Draws✏️ (@Footy_Draws) August 18, 2022