Camilla Forte/Borderless Magazine/Catchlight Local/Report for AmericaFor collectors who grew up watching the World Cup abroad, completing the Panini World Cup album is more than a hobby — it’s a tradition tied to childhood memories.
On a July morning in Portage Park, veteran Panini sticker collectors and newcomers gathered, duplicate stickers and tracking spreadsheets in hand.
They had one goal in mind: completing the Panini World Cup album.
Events like these, known as Panini sticker swap meets, bring collectors together to exchange duplicate stickers for ones they may still need. The gatherings have been popping up across Chicago’s immigrant neighborhoods as sticker collecting rises in popularity across the United States.
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For collectors like Ana Magnuson, who grew up completing the Panini World Cup album in her home country of Brazil, collecting these stickers is more than a hobby. It’s a long-time tradition tied to childhood memories spent watching World Cup matches with loved ones every four years.
“My first album must have been in 1990,” said Magnuson. “In Brazil, every single kid has an album. You bring the stickers to school and exchange [there]. It’s part of our culture.”
Guillermo Vidaurre, who grew up in Guatemala, began collecting Panini stickers at age 8.
“My dad got me into it. We’d fill the album out together every [World Cup],” said Vidaurre. “Then, I had my kids and when they were of age to start getting interested in stuff like this, I introduced it to them. Now that they’re older they are the ones who tell me, ‘Hey, Dad, let’s go get the album.’”
The first official Panini World Cup sticker collection was launched during the 1970 Mexico World Cup after the sticker and trading cards company struck an exclusive licensing deal with the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA).
Sticker collecting has been a popular World Cup tradition in Europe and Latin America for decades, but interest in the practice has peaked in the U.S. this year. The increased demand has led to some Panini retailers being sold out of sticker packets as early as April, NPR reported in June.
Edna Navarro-Vidaurre, who has organized three separate Panini Swap events in her neighborhood of Portage Park this summer, said swap events have allowed her family to continue the tradition of completing the album despite rising costs — all while building community with like-minded neighbors.
While a pack of 7 stickers retails for $1.99, the 2026 Panini Album has 980 empty slots to fill, which can make completing it a pricey task.
“It’s been cool to get to know other people in the neighborhood that share the same passion,” said Navarro-Vidaurre.
It’s a passion spreading to a new generation of collectors like Santiago Cova and his 12-year-old son Eliseo.
Cova grew up watching the World Cup as a child in Quito, Ecuador, but never participated in the practice of collecting stickers.
This year, he’s completing his first album with his son.
“We went on vacation to Ecuador last month, and that’s where we started the album,” Cova said. “We completed around 60 to 70 percent of the album in Ecuador. When we came back [to Chicago], we started looking for places to trade so we could complete it.”
Towards the end of the event, the steady hum of negotiations and conversations about soccer matches was cut off by Cova ringing a cowbell.
Eliseo had completed his 2026 World Cup Panini sticker album.
The crowd cheered.
Camilla Forte is a CatchLight fellow and Report for America Corps Member covering immigrant communities for Borderless Magazine. She can be reached at [email protected].
