IT’S BEEN ANOTHER bad week for fans of nostalgia, with pre-tournament stickering the latest pillar of our lives to fall to the progress of capitalism. American-based Topps have the official rights to the Euro 2024 sticker album, ending Panini’s 47-year run of control. Panini, however, have deals with England, Spain, Italy, Germany, and France, which means Topps are not allowed to display these players in official kit.
And that’s only those players whom Topps are allowed to include. Panini have individual players deals too, which means some high profile squad members – including Phil Foden and John Stones – are not included in the Topps’ official album. Topps have therefore padded their album out with players like Luke Thomas, whom the eagle-eyed will notice has never been capped by England.
No man on a football sticker should be surprised to open a packet and find himself. Panini, needing to do something with their painfully incomplete collection of stars, have launched an album featuring just these five squads. Also, because of the introduction of the Nations League and the bloating of the football calendar, the Euros play-offs were not completed until March, at which point Topps had gone to print.
They therefore had to take a punt on the results of the play-offs, which is why you can go out and buy the stickers of Wales players who are currently lying beside Dubai swimming pools. Prior to Euro 2024, completing a sticker album was an expensive business but it was.
