Undoubtedly one of the most anticipated items in each World Cup , for 52 years, is the Panini World Cup album , which anticipates the start of the most important soccer tournament on a global level.
The 14th edition of this album will be represented by the Qatar 2022 World Cup, which in recent days has been a trend among social network users due to its availability and high prices. But have you ever wondered what is the history of this album and its creators? Below we tell you all the details.
The panini brothers
The brothers Giuseppe, Benito and Umberto Panini were born in Pozzo, a region of Emilia-Romagna, although they constantly traveled to Modena since their father worked at the military academy in that province. In 1945 the family obtained a license to run a magazine kiosk near the cathedral in the center of that city.
The three brothers managed the business well, they invested the profits in a distribution agency, but one day they found the article that would change the course of their business.
One of the brothers came across a collection of cards that a company in Milan could not sell. The brothers bought the collection and sold them in packs of two for ten lire each. They sold three million packs. Due to the great success they decided to continue with this dynamic.
Panini’s story
In 1961 they rented a workshop, bought the rights to some of the Italian soccer stars and started printing cards with their images. The cards were the size of a stamp and were collected. Three years later they bought a printing plant and released their first album so that buyers could place them somewhere. Then the self-adhesive ones we know today would arrive.
The boom came when they partnered with FIFA to produce the official album for the 1970 World Cup in Mexico. Sport became the company’s forte, particularly during the World Cups. However, Panini grew from licensing other characters and themes to selling albums throughout the year, from superheroes to TV shows to video games.
The brothers held control of the brand until 1989 when it was sold to Britain’s Robert Maxwell, owner of the Daily Mirror newspaper, for 96 million pounds. During his tenure the company lost prominence. The figurines fell in quality and the businessman used Panini’s funds to invest in other of his brands.
After his death in 1991, the firm passed into the hands of the Italian consortium Bain, Gallo, Cuneo and De Agostini, in 1994 they sold it to the Marvel Entertainment Group. But the comics house went bankrupt and five years later Panini was acquired by the Italian Fineldo, which currently retains its stake.
How did the self-adhesive stamps arrive?
After having released the 1970 Mexico World Cup album, Panini had a radical change in the company that would mark a before and after in the stamp album industry.
In the 1971-72 Calcitori Italiano season, the self-adhesive stickers sold today were used for the first time. Originally, the stamps were made of thin cardboard and collectors affixed them to the album with glue.
