LONDON, April 29 (Reuters) - For generations of soccer fans, no World Cup would be complete without the thrill of opening a packet of Panini stickers and discovering Zico, Franz Beckenbauer, Diego Maradona or Lionel Messi staring back.
Since Italian company Panini's first sticker collection at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, trying, and usually failing, to complete the set has been an obsession for young fans around the globe with playground swapping mandatory.
This year's World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico will present the biggest challenge yet though and will require a considerable amount of pocket money.
With 48 nations heading for the tournament in June and July -- the largest edition ever -- 980 unique stickers, including 68 'special' ones will be required to fill the 112-page album that will be available from Thursday.
Individual packets of seven stickers retail at 1.25 pounds ($1.69) in Britain, meaning that even with impossibly perfect luck and no duplicates, 140 packets would be required, costing 175 pounds.
Statistically, however, more than 1,000 packets may be required to acquire every player in the album, meaning an outlay in the region of 1,000 pounds.
Panini's biggest ever collection was launched at a special event at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday, with former England players David James, John Barnes and Gary Cahill reliving their sticker-hunting days.
"As someone who grew up collecting Panini stickers, swapping with friends in the playground and trying to complete the album every tournament, the album has always marked the real start of a World Cup for me!" former Chelsea defender Cahill said.
"Seeing myself in the collection during my playing days was a surreal and proud moment, and a reminder of how these stickers become part of the story of every World Cup."
Panini say they will be hosting a live 'swap shop' in May around Britain, giving collectors the chance to find their 'must-have' players while a 'Sticker Box' will travel up and down the country, giving away sticker packets and albums.
When the dust has settled on the World Cup, it might also be prudent to store duplicates in the loft as there is a burgeoning market in vintage stickers.
In 2021, a 1979 Panini sticker of Maradona, then aged 19, sold for 470,000 pounds at auction.
($1 = 0.7408 pounds)
(Reporting by Martyn Herman)
