Hugo Ruiz still cherishes the memory of the 1986 World Cup. 

The Argentine retiree vividly recalls Diego Maradona's feats against England, his unforgettable goals, and the plays that propelled Argentina to World Cup glory at Mexico City's Estadio Azteca in 1986.

"I watched it with my wife and friends at home; I'll never forget it," he told TRT Español.

Four decades later, Ruiz shares the ritual of collecting the 2026 World Cup album with his wife, Olga, his son, Sergio, and his grandson, Santiago.

Every week, they buy stickers—also known as trading cards in other countries in the region—and travel to parks in Buenos Aires to exchange them with other children, young people, and adults who are trying to complete the 980-sticker set in this edition.

“It’s an analogue pastime,” the grandparents say.

“When we gave him the album, he was so happy. He got Lionel Messi in one of the first packs.”

Like the Ruiz family, millions across Latin America are pursuing the challenge of completing the sticker album, which has sparked a frenzy among collectors and football fans of all ages since its launch in late April and early May. 

Panini, the publisher that has been printing them since 1970, estimates that this edition will surpass all previous sales records in the region, as the company's marketing manager in Uruguay, Nicolas Lerner, tells TRT Español.

“In my day, there wasn’t the craze that exists now,” says Hugo.

His son Sergio remembers collecting the 1994 World Cup stickers and appreciates sharing the experience with his father and his 10-year-old son.

“The whole family contributes. It’s an analogue form of entertainment that keeps the kids away from screens,” he emphasises.

Trading cards

“The sticker album is a tradition; there’s a widespread craze,” says Ruben Ferrer, owner of a supermarket in downtown Montevideo where sticker sales grow week after week. 

“Parents and grandparents are the biggest buyers,” the shopkeeper tells TRT Español. 

In Uruguay, sales of the World Cup sticker album have been on the rise since 2010, when the tournament was held in South Africa, and the Uruguayan national team finished fourth, featuring stars like Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez.

“It’s always been a huge hit; the World Cup is always contagious, and Uruguay is a country with a strong football tradition,” says Ferrer.

“Uruguay has the highest per capita consumption of trading cards in the world. It has remained constant for more than a decade, and we expect to surpass it this World Cup. We believe it will be a record-breaking sales figure.”

Panini attributes the craze to the convergence of two Uruguayan passions: football and collecting.

“There’s at least one album per family. There’s individual collecting, by adults who consider it a hobby, and also collective collecting, which involves the whole family. The goal is to complete it before the World Cup starts. Grandparents are the biggest buyers,” he says.

The brothers World Cup album

The history of the World Cup album dates back to Italy in the early 1960s, when the Panini brothers, owners of a publishing house, began selling postcards the size of trading cards featuring the faces of players from "el calcio", the Italian league. 

A decade later, FIFA granted Panini the licence to publish the album for the 1970 Mexico World Cup, the first officially released by the Italian company.

Among the most sought-after stickers was Pele's, the Brazilian star who that year would win his third World Cup and become a global football legend.

Since then, millions of Latin American children have grown up sticking their favourite idols' faces into their albums: Pele in 1970, Maradona in 1986 and Messi in 2022.

The tradition of collecting trading cards lasted for 56 years, spanning all social classes, leaving a mark on each generation, surviving technological evolution and transforming into a social ritual.

In Argentina, it became a national issue during the 2022 Qatar World Cup: there were massive shortages of stickers and albums, black-market resale, and price increases fueled by scarcity. 

The government even met with Panini executives to guarantee the supply chain. However, this could be one of the last World Cups with the Panini sticker album. 

In early May, FIFA announced that it would end its six-decade partnership with Panini after the 2030 World Cup, signing an exclusive licensing agreement with Fanatics instead.

Despite the announcement, Panini's representative in Uruguay remains cautious about the partnership's future, noting that the company is already working on the design of its 2030 World Cup album.

“It will be very important for the region, because it marks the 100th anniversary of the first World Cup, organised and won by Uruguay,” he says.

“For now, we are focused on this World Cup.”

Success in Latin America

In a region that cherishes football as one of its main passions and as a bridge between generations across all latitudes, the album "is exceeding all expectations," according to Lerner, Panini Uruguay's representative. 

"This collection is performing better than anticipated," he says.

In addition, Latin American players such as Messi, the Brazilian Neymar Jr., the Uruguayan Federico Valverde and the Mexican Guillermo Ochoa are adored in their countries and are projected to be figures of this edition.

In Mexico, one of the three host countries of the World Cup, the stickers have been a sales success since their release in early May.

“It’s part of our culture, and it’s caused a sensation. It’s our country’s World Cup, so it’s nice to keep the memory,” Miguel Angel, a 36-year-old Mexican who hopes to complete his album in the coming weeks, told TRT Español.

But he warns that the price is high.

“There are many selections and players. For some fans, it might be a luxury,” he says. 

Even so, he believes the album helps bring football closer to more people.

In a region with disparate income levels, trading stickers is an alternative to buying fewer packs, thereby lowering costs.

Furthermore, the expansion of the World Cup to 48 teams increased the number of stickers in the album, from 670 in 2022 to 980 in 2026.

In Uruguay, where each envelope costs 60 pesos (approximately US$1.49), it's still not affordable for all families, according to shopkeeper Ruben Ferrer.

“You have to spend a significant amount of money. Buying all the envelopes is impossible. So, many people buy and trade them to participate in the game; it happens a lot in schools,” he says.

In Argentina, each pack sells for 2,000 pesos (US$1.43), and spaces for exchanging trading cards among children in schools, clubs and squares are also multiplying.

“Trading is important because they cost a lot, they’re very expensive. We buy a lot of packs, but we also trade so we finish faster,” Gonzalo Aguirre tells TRT Español.

Aguirre still keeps the albums he collected 20 years ago. 

“The World Cups are beautiful because they unite us all,” he says.

The scene before him seems to prove him right.

On a cold autumn afternoon in Buenos Aires, his seven-year-old son managed to bring home a small haul: 10 stickers he hadn't been able to collect until then, bringing him one step closer to completing his World Cup album.