World Cup fans in B.C. build community through collecting soccer stickers
Panini sticker collecting is a ritual in many parts of the world during tournaments, fans hope it spreads
A group of soccer sticker collectors eagerly building out their albums this year say they hope the activity spreads before the next World Cup.
The Panini brand of collectible stickers are part of a World Cup tradition around the world — a phenomenon catching on locally after Team Canada qualified for the first time in a generation.
Collectors try to fill out an album, featuring stickers of every player in the tournament, every four years.
There are 670 stickers to collect, not counting duplicates, which can cost up to $1,200 to achieve, with prices going up every World Cup.
That's why swapping duplicates and trading for rarer pieces has become part of the hobby for collectors — and a great way to meet new people.
Just ask Lina Villamil, who says she has met dozens of people from the Latin American community after joining a local Facebook group for Panini collectors four years ago, during the 2018 World Cup.
"It's funny because you start, like, messaging people that you don't even know," the Vancouver resident said.
"You start building relationships with them and like trying to help each other as well to finish the album."
She's one of more than 850 members of the Facebook group. Coming from Colombia — where collecting stickers during every tournament is a ritual — Villamil says she wanted to pass the tradition to her children, who grew up in the U.S. and Canada.
"I think it's like you try to give them the best that you can of your heritage, of the food, of the little things that you grew up with," she said.
Villamil's daughter, Gabi, says she's been able to connect with people in university over soccer sticker collecting.
"It kinda keeps you in the loop with them, the players, and how everything works in the soccer world," she told CBC News.
"It's really fun to communicate with everyone to see who they have left and how many stickers they have left."
Intergenerational love for Panini
Luiz Chimanovich has been collecting soccer stickers for over 30 years.
The 44-year-old from Brazil says swapping stickers is a "frenzy" across South America during tournaments like the World Cup and Copa America.
"In 2010, I was working in a factory in Brazil," he said. "Both white collar [and] blue collar [workers], sat together at lunch to swap cards, to talk about the World Cup.
"It's a very democratic thing."
Chimanovich was seven when Canada made the World Cup in 1986. Now, 36 years later, Canada has qualified for a second time — and his son is seven years old.
"It's a souvenir from the past. It's a time capsule," he said.
The hobby has led Chimanovich to meet a Richmond neighbour, Mark Acosta, who first started collecting in 2018 with his son, Jadon.
Jadon was gifted an album of stickers by his grandfather.
"After school on Thursday, we would go to Shoppers with my grandpa to buy lots of packs cause it's seniors day," he said.
"It's quite satisfying … you have that proud joy of completing something."
Acosta adds that the activity is also educational, getting his son curious about other players and countries.
Rapid growth of community
Brazilian expat Renan Prado started the Facebook group that Villamil is part of in 2014.
He says the group has seen a huge uptick — nearly 500 more members — after Canada qualified for the World Cup this year.
"There's definitely lots of people — Canadians — that are joining the group," he said.
"But I also think … there are more people coming from these countries, that are used to collecting, coming to Canada."
Prado says the group has fostered numerous connections with people he's still in touch with, and that it also has members from Victoria and Kelowna.
He says he hopes the hobby expands further during the 2026 World Cup, which will include games in Vancouver.
"I can only imagine how it's going to be in the next one when the games are actually hosted here," he said.
"I think it will be a very special thing."
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With files from Janella Hamilton and Dan McGarvey