Valletta’s Anastasi Panini will not be selling this year’s edition of the UEFA Euro sticker collection, and will instead be distributing a new collection by Panini that is not related to the competition.

This comes after Panini’s long run of producing the immensely popular sticker albums for the men’s European Championships came to an end in 2022, after UEFA struck an agreement with American rival company Topps to produce the 2024 and 2028 collections. The Italian company had produced the sticker albums for every edition of the tournament since 1976.

Topps has since released the sticker collection, with legendary Portuguese football manager José Mourinho as ambassador.

Panini, which also produces the official English Premier League and Italian Serie A collections, will retain the rights to produce the FIFA World Cup sticker albums.

Anastasi Panini, the Italian company’s main distributor in Malta, has been a staple for local football collectors and fanatics, with the store in Valletta being flooded with people ahead of international tournaments. The store was first opened by Dominic Anastasi, who had started importing collections back in 1970.

Contacted by WhosWho.mt about what the change in sticker producer will mean for the store, Anastasi Panini clarified that given its more than 50-year relationship with Panini, it “only sells Panini collectibles,” confirming that it will not be stocking the Topps collection.

While the store stocks other collections throughout the year, the World Cup and European Championships years are arguably the busiest periods for Anastasi Panini. As a result, taking the decision to not sell the Euro 2024 edition will undoubtedly have an impact on the business.

Panini / Facebook

It said that it is still “very early to say” whether it will be having a quieter pre-tournament period than previous years. “That being said, we soft launched the FIFA Top Class cards last week and we’ve already had to submit a reorder because all our stock finished,” Anastasi Panini explained.

“Luckily, Panini have a great relationship with FIFA and have been producing very successful collections over the years,” the store’s management said.

It stated that these range from the yearly FIFA 365 sticker and card collections to the World Cup collections that will still be produced by Panini for the 2026 edition in North America, as well as the 2030 one.

Topps / Facebook

In an attempt to combat the increasing competition from Topps and to also generate a steady amount of revenue despite the loss of rights, Panini has also released a new World Class 2024 sticker collection, showcasing the eight sides that have won the FIFA World Cup. Anastasi Panini confirmed to this newsroom that it will in fact be selling this particular collection, launching it soon.

While the store will not be selling the Euro 2024 collection, Anastasi Panini still expects plenty of people to turn up outside the store to swap stickers with one another, a tradition that has transcended throughout different generations. However, it remarked that instead, collectors will most likely be trading FIFA World Class stickers and similar Panini collections.

“The trading happens spontaneously, and we already have people showing up and trading these collections on Saturdays,” Anastasi Panini affirmed.

In a world with a mounting cost of living, collectors are constantly striving to complete the sets with as little packets bought as possible, and swapping is a popular way of working around this.

Sticker collections, especially Panini’s ones, have made headlines over the years for their gradual rise in price. The prices of stickers have served as a stark reflection of the impact of inflation, particularly since a packet of five stickers now costs €1. Interestingly, the packets of the new Topps collection are also being sold for €1 each across many stores in Europe, yet in contrast to those of its Italian rival, Topps' packets contain six stickers.

When asked whether Panini’s collections will have to increase in price yet again to make up for losing the Euro 2024 and 2028 collections, Anastasi Panini said that the price “has been €1 for a while.”

“It is still very early to know the price for the World Cup collection two years in advance. Many people collect the stickers every two or four years, and so they compare the price over a longer period of time. Costs have risen between shipping and paper production, but the price has been stable at €1 since 2020,” the management said.

Looking ahead, Anastasi Panini’s management still feels that collectibles, especially Panini ones, will remain popular in Malta, stating that the future is looking “extremely promising” due to the variety of products the Italian company is producing, including other collections not tied to football.

“It’s beautiful to see that in an ever-connected world where we keep on seeing children interacting online more and more, these physical products that help children learn to trade and interact with their friends and family keep growing,” it concluded.