Qatar World Cup 2022: Panini Road to World Cup 2022 sticker book could cost up to £900 to fill

As the nostalgic sticker firm, Panini, celebrates its 60th anniversary, its dedicated fans could be about to spend a fortune in a sticker searching frenzy, ahead of the Qatar World Cup.

In 1970, when the popular collectors game launched in the UK, football fans could pick up a pack of four stickers for around 5p.

Now Panini’s ‘Road to World Cup 2022’ has launched, fans will be dumbfounded that the cost of the pack of cards is almost 20 times more expensive.

Football finance expert, Kieran Maguire, suggests that completing the new World Cup 2022 book could set you back a whopping £883.80.

Kieran took to Twitter to share his findings, saying: "It’s 90p for five stickers and there are 670 to collect. That works out as £120.60 if you have to collect all and swap all spares, but if no swapping, then based on probability it will cost you £883.80."

He claims that there is a one in 669 chance of repeat stickers, saying that when all the maths is done, the total price of completing the book could cost almost £900.

He said: “If you put the numbers into a probability machine, that’s the way it works out.”

Fans of the sticker book took to Twitter to react to the news with one user saying: “Don’t get sucked in!”

A second user added: ”Not bad that…. That’s only about 10 minutes worth of central heating - absolute bargain really!”

Kieran - who is an academic at the University of Liverpool - suggests that the shocking hike in Panini sticker prices is down to royalties.

"It’s the nature of the beast, Panini have to pay a royalty figure to FIFA," Kieran says.

"And they have to negotiate with the individual football associations to get the rights to use the shirt and the badge. So it’s an expensive business for them."