Italian publisher Panini launched its nationwide FIFA World Cup 2026 Swap Shop tour on Saturday, May 23.
Three custom vehicles will travel across England, Scotland, and Wales, offering fans dedicated hubs to trade duplicate stickers.
The 2026 collection is the largest in Panini's history, featuring 980 stickers, including 68 special editions.
This expansion accommodates the tournament's new 48-team format across Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
Each packet now contains seven stickers instead of six, increasing the chance to collect stars like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Lamine Yamal.
The mobile swapping hubs will operate through Saturday, May 30, stopping at major retail locations such as Morrisons and The Entertainer.
Visitors can access official albums, merchandise, and freestyle football performances by Dan Magness.
The itinerary includes stops in Glasgow, Birmingham, and London on May 23, followed by visits to Coventry, Newcastle, York, Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Cardiff, and Bournemouth.
Meanwhile, a parallel trading market has emerged in South America.
Thousands of enthusiasts gather daily at shopping centers, parks, and plazas across Colombia to negotiate manual exchanges of the new sticker series.
Collectors in Bogotá use handwritten lists, spreadsheets, and mobile apps to organize their albums, dealing directly in front of official retail outlets like the Panini store at Gran Estación.
The traditional exchange dynamic faces minor complications due to a structural redesign.
The current collection numbers individual team players from 1 to 20 rather than using a continuous sequential system throughout the album.
Informal street stalls in neighborhoods like Pablo VI offer single missing cards for 1,000 Colombian pesos, though coveted star players, team shields, and commemorative editions command up to 50,000 pesos on the secondary market.
The trading activity bridges multiple generations of football fans. Children, young adults, and elderly collectors negotiate card values amidst heavy crowd traffic.
Some participants purchase entire wholesale boxes of sticker envelopes to accelerate completion, while others choose manual swapping to maintain long-standing community traditions.
"For me it's very important because it's like having the memory of the World Cup, of the players who were there," explained Diego Casas, a fan experiencing his third World Cup filling the album on his own.
Casas noted that the current edition presents unique difficulties due to the evolved numbering, yet he remains committed to finding cards through social interactions.
"I really like this dynamic of coming to change and what it means to keep alive a tradition that must continue to move forward," he added.
