The Football Association has confirmed an exciting new four-year deal with Panini, the world leader in the sticker collectable and trading card market. England complete the Italian company's set of national federations and the team will now proudly appear in Panini collections in their official England kit for the first time since Euro ‘96.
The team will feature in a range of products sold across the world, featuring global stars such as Wayne Rooney, Joe Hart and Jack Wilshere. The first collectable series, following the team on their quest to qualify for UEFA Euro 2016 in France, will be distributed globally and will appeal to England fans everywhere. Globally renowned research company Futures Sport + Entertainment conducted a 2014 study highlighting that 826 million people follow the England team. The heritage and global appeal of the England team and Panini will cement this partnership in the hearts of fans the world over.
Since its foundation in 1961, Panini has become synonymous with football worldwide and now distributes in more than 120 countries. The company came to the fore in the United Kingdom with its Football ’78 series, which kick-started a love affair with Panini stickers for fans of all ages who embarked on a quest to complete their collections with the words ‘got, got, need’ heard across the football-obsessed nation.
Although traditional football stickers and trading cards will form the basis of this partnership, Panini’s expansion in other product areas will bring the addition of a wealth of innovative merchandise, including 3D collectables, digital and multi-media format collections. This will increase opportunities for England fans everywhere to connect with the team.
In addition to the enormous number of collectors participating in physical products Panini’s World Cup collection engaged three million global collectors at Brazil 2014 with digital versions of stickers and a dedicated app that keeps track of collections. Such innovation ensures a generation of digitally-minded fans can continue the time-honoured tradition of collecting.
The FA and Panini will offer unique experiences for collectors, creating a ‘swap shop’ in the family enclosure of Wembley Stadium where fans can complete their collections, and experience the latest Panini products.
Stuart Turner, Commercial Director of The FA said: “We are delighted to have teamed up with Panini. As The FA continues to make significant moves on an international scale, the aligned global plans and expansion is a perfect fit. Working with Panini following their recent successes at the FIFA World Cup in 2014 is a particularly exciting opportunity for The FA. As the governing body of football, this partnership will enable The FA to invest in developing more opportunities for people of all ages to play at the grassroots as well as connecting fans with their England heroes - whether first-time or seasoned collectors.”
Peter Warsop, Group Licensing Director said: “Panini is delighted to be back working with The FA. Panini is dedicated to its collectors and their aspirations to get authentic and official products; The FA agreement completes an important piece of the jigsaw in that as well as the official tournament rights, for such things as the Euro 2016, England joins other Federations to ensure 100% authenticity. Our first endeavours to bring official FA content to fans will be seen shortly in our introductory ADRENALYN XL Trading Card Game called ‘The Road to Euro’. Panini is also using England Team assets within its official FIFA Women’s World Cup sticker album to be launched in May
