Enthusiasts score big with collectible packs despite rising costs
PETALING JAYA: Despite costing four times more than they did in the 1980s, the hunt has begun among football fans for stickers of players now that World Cup fever is raging.
These official FIFA collections are offered by the Italy-based Panini Group, which holds the exclusive rights.
The collectible packs (of stickers and cards) contain random national teams and players which fans paste into specially designed albums.
And since the stickers and cards are randomly packed, swapping is often necessary as collectors often end up with duplicates and missing pieces, leading to a thriving culture of swapping and trading.
Several collectors said the thrill of completing their collections keeps them hooked despite rising costs.
For Thavaselvam Tesanggu, 51, the hobby began when he was nine during the 1986 Mexico World Cup.
“In the 1980s, a packet of seven stickers cost RM2. Today, it is about RM8,” he said.
Back then, he said there were only stickers.
“Now, Panini has expanded the range to include boxes, cards and special-edition stickers,” said the operations manager of a gas company.
As such, he said purchasing the entire World Cup variation set can cost more than RM1,000.
Thavaselvam said he began getting the stickers for his two children in 2018, hoping they would “inherit” the hobby.
“I started buying more for them and realised I had duplicate stickers. That was when I became one of those who started swapping and eventually helped create a bigger community for this hobby.
“Once the community started growing on social media, we began meeting occasionally to trade and sell,” he said, adding there were more than 100 people in the Kuala Lumpur community so far.
Another sticker enthusiast, Mar Izwan Marzuki, 45, said he started collecting them when he was 13 during the 1994 World Cup.
“It’s a feel-good hobby. I get a thrill every time I paste a sticker into my album,” he said.
He has been diligently doing so for the past five World Cup tournaments.
“In those days, some convenience stores would sell these stickers. But now, it is no longer that way because the price has gone up including tax.”
And if some stickers were missing or duplicated, which he could not swap, Mar said he would go to Singapore to buy them as the distributor was available there.
“Otherwise, I would order from the UK,” he said.
Admin employee Umabaran Parinbamnadar began collecting the stickers when he was 12.
“I enjoy the whole process of collecting. I keep my cards in personal binders rather than albums. I like the variety of the items and I would usually swap and buy whatever series I want from friends,” he said.
