Panini Made the World Cup Album for 56 Years. An American Company Took It Away.”

In 1970, two brothers from Modena, Italy created the first ever World Cup sticker album. For 56 years, Panini produced every World Cup album that followed. It became one of the most universal experiences in football — the packets, the swaps, the album that nobody ever quite finished. The 2026 World Cup album is in shops right now. It will be the last Panini World Cup album ever made. An American company called Fanatics — owner of Topps — took the FIFA license away. Not with a better product. But through a strategy that multiple antitrust lawsuits describe as the deliberate construction of a monopoly over the entire global sports collectibles market. This is the full story. Where Panini came from. How they built their empire. And how Fanatics dismantled it in three years. 🔔 Subscribe for the real stories behind football. The ones the sport takes for granted.