Anyone who considers the FIFA World Cup as just another soccer tournament is brutally mistaken. This event leaves its mark because of what happens on and off the field. Qatar 2022 is just around the corner and with it, a series of traditions that every football fan loves.
One of them, one of the most deeply rooted in millions of World Cup fans, is collecting souvenirs of all kinds. Precisely, there is one that is invariably in demand every time this tournament is held: the Panini Sticker Album.
This ritual of trying to complete all the little prints in the Album has been going on for many years now, making it one of the favorite activities to do before and during the FIFA World Cup. Below, we will tell you everything you need to start filling out the Qatar 2022 Panini Sticker Album as soon as possible.
The long-standing tradition of the FIFA World Cup Panini Sticker Album
The Mexico 1970 edition of the World Cup, won by a dream team led by Carlos Alberto, Gerson, Jairzinho, Tostao, Rivelino and Pelé, was the first to be televised in color for the whole world, the first to use an official ball, and the first to collect the Panini Sticker Album.
This company was born in 1961 in Modena, Italy, when two brothers, Benito and Giuseppe Panini, discovered that the collectibles market was a potential millionaire business. This is how their brand gained ground and led them to sign an agreement with FIFA to create and sell the first edition of the now famous Sticker Album in 1970.
To date, and since the first FIFA World Cup organized by Mexico, there have been 13 editions of both the most prestigious tournament in world soccer and the Sticker Album. Qatar 2022 could not be the exception, and will also have its own edition of the Album. So get ready to buy and exchange stickers to complete your collection.
FIFA World Cup Panini Sticker Album, USMNT. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Which versions of the Panini World Cup Sticker Album are available?
From the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018, along with the tangible and real version of the Album, a digital one was launched, in which the same dynamic of getting and trading stickersin order to fulfill the whole albumcan be carried out.
In Qatar 2022 this trend continues and the Panini World Cup Sticker Album will be available to be collected both on the web and in the real world. The current edition consists of 670 stickers including 18 players for each of the 32 National Teams participating in the tournament, as well as shields, stadiums and special stickers.
FIFA World Cup Panini Sticker Album. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Release date and price of the Qatar 2022 Panini Sticker Album
According to official information from the brand, the physical Sticker Album of the upcoming FIFA World Cup goes on sale in the United States on August 24, 2022. For Latin America, the wait will be a little longer, as the album will be available fromSeptember 7.
The price of the soft cover album, without any envelope containing stamps to fill it, is a modest 2 dollars. While the pack with 50 envelopes of Qatar 2022 stamps costs 75 dollars. They can be purchased through Panini’s official website.
FIFA World Cup 2014 Panini Sticker Album.(Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
The FIFA World Cup Panini Digital Sticker Album
If you do not want to spend money but want to be part of this ritual that will take place before and during Qatar 2022, the digital version of the Album is your best option, because it is totally free. An experience that you can enjoy from your computer, tablet or any smartphone.
Unlike the physical version, you can start collecting these coveted stickersto fill your Digital Album. All you have to do is enter this website, or download the Panini Digital Sticker app, available for Android or IOS.
While you can get the Digital Album immediately, to have access to additional features such as extra envelopes, access to collector groups and the ability to collect Qatar 2022 stamps from a second device, you need to create a user on FIFA.com and register. If you bought, or tried to buy, tickets for the upcoming World Cup, you can use that same user.
By logging in to the website and the app, every FIFA World Cup Panini Digital Sticker Album collector receives a daily envelope, and those who are also registered receive two in total. To receive them, it is only necessary to enter the web or the app and select that option.
Once the envelopes are opened, you have to paste, as in real life, the stickers in the album. Those that are repeated can be exchanged with users from around the world in the Swap Area. There is also an area with challenges (getting certain stamps) in which you can get extra benefits for overcoming them.
To speed up the filling of the digital Album, you can scan codes that come with the purchase of envelopes of the real Album, which are disseminated by FIFA’s official networks or the purchase of the various presentations of Coca Cola.
Qatar 2022 Panini Digital Sticker Album. (FIFA.com)
The mistake and the special feature of the Qatar 2022 World Cup Panini Sticker Album
Although it is a traditional product, the Panini Sticker Album Qatar 2022 version is not without flaws. A situation out of its control, and that in fact shocked the entire sports world, was the cause: FIFA’s announcement of the upcoming World Cup.
Thus, in the tournament schedule that appears on one of the pages it still states that the opening of Qatar 2022 will be on Monday, November 21 and that the first match of the tournament will be Senegal vs Netherlands, when in fact the World Cup kicks off on November 20 with Qatar vs Ecuador.
Regarding the new feature of the Panini Sticker Album of the upcoming FIFA World Cup, the classic numbering of the stickers has changed. Previously, it was common for all stickers to be numbered consecutively, with the number 300, for example. Now, they will be arranged from 1 to 19 (18 players and the team crest) only. For example: United States 10; Brazil 8; Argentina 1.
There are prizes for filling out the Qatar 2022 Panini Sticker Album
For the digital version there are, as announced on the official FIFA website. The first 200 users who complete their Qatar 2022 albums between August 15 and December 20 will receive a hardbound book version of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Panini Sticker Album, as well as a combo to create 10 personalized stickers, so that they look just like the stamps of the stars who will play in the World Cup.
There are also prizes for the next 300 users who can prove they have filled their Panini Sticker Album. They will win a combo of 10 personalized stickers, just like the first 200 winners. In Qatar 2022, join the tradition that every four years is lived with euphoria by the millions of FIFA World Cup fans.
A FIFA World Cup Trophy replica.(Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
