Every four years something significant happens – the Fifa World Cup. This international football competition is between 32 male soccer teams from around the world. It is a big deal for a country to qualify for this event. A host country is chosen by Fifa’s Congress in advance, and this is where the competition takes place for that month. 

Panini makes exclusive trading cards of the teams that are playing in the World Cup. They started making these cards in 1970 and have been a huge hit ever since. Soccer fans all over the globe fiend over the renowned Fifa cards. It provides the fans with a sense of unity. They trade, sell, and hunt these stickers in order to complete the entire album. This quadrennial occurrence gets fans excited and riled up for the upcoming competition. 

The 670-sticker album is a costly hobby. It costs around $800 to fill the entire book; however, this doesn’t stop fans. Panini made around $1 billion dollars in sales for the 2018 World Cup. 

What is it that makes fans so passionate about this sticker album? DDCUS 10th-grade student, Alejandro Austrich, helps understand why.

These cards may seem silly to some, but it is very important for many soccer fans. This year’s book is especially important because many say this will be Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo’s last World Cup. The two soccer stars are what made many love the sport. The cards add a sense of loyalty, and it keeps fans anticipating the event.