Licensing Rights in Italy - Topps

[Canal Cromo]

So, we knew sooner or later Topps would overtake Panini in Italy, now the confirmation. From 2035 all the Italian image rights will "move" to Topps

https://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2026/03/30/figurine-nazionale-figc-panini-topps-news/8339244/?fbclid=IwY2xjawQ3LahleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEe-ILJWvBFVGT41H7rqqzkKV7Lwuq900LAPIH8pWMUrT4-LfyYCN8N4k29V7g_aem_lepdN8f4OFDqnkMWn19kbQ

 

[Iulian]

Sad news, indeed. Nevertheless, it concerns our collecting hobby nearly a decade from now and only the Italian national teams, not Calciatori (yet). Let's hope we'll make it to 2035 and see how Topps will approach their latest acquisition.

It does seem that Panini is slowly crumbling and may even disappear by 2035. Now, it seems that the FIGC is contributing to its downfall. As the article suggests, it was a sly decision, taken behind closed doors by the FIGC probably in exchange for a generous bonus. But who would've expected such a level of corruption from the Italian federation led by dinosaurs who fought in the Napoleonic wars? (wink, wink)

 

[Peakster]

If Panini ever lose the World Cup - they really will be relegated to the non league of sticker and card production.

Topps/Fanatics will finish this hobby off for most of us. Of the mass produced stuff they still make, Match Attax sets are now virtually uncollectable (and very dull) and the Champions League sticker collection is a cut and paste from the previous year.

 

[Pillman]

Enjoy your Calciatori albums (and possibly other collections as well) while you still can guys.Who knows what Topps' albums will look like from 2035

 

[LFC1892]

I'm not surprised at all. I called this last year or more on this forum when the PL ditched Panini and went with Fanatics.

A monopoly is never good for any product/market & us collectors will suffer for that.

Calciatori is the first and oldest sticker collection in the history of collecting and for Italy to lose it is indeed a sad day when it comes in 2035.

All is there left for Fanatics to buy is La Liga rights in Spain and Portugal Liga. Next, World Cup rights and the domination is complete.

Personally, I've decided that MA will not be part of my collection starting next season, especially with the amount of rare & ultra rare cards being added to the collection. I will get a full set of LFC cards from the Prem collection and another from the CL and that's it.

I went down to the London Fanatics shop about 6 weeks ago (I was there watching the REDS at Anfield then took the train down) and it felt like a hobby shop full of expensive toys that many kids in the UK couldn't afford. There was the Topps MA Extra stuff but so many hobby boxes that topps released and nothing was less than a 100 quid. How can kids afford that? There was more adults in the shops than kids.

Suffice to say I didn't spend a single penny there because it wasn't worth it.

Life is changing but it won't be for the better for us who love this hobby and been doing it for decades and for the next generation of kids who want to collect.

I'm 57 and already thinking of what will happen when I retire and have less money to spend. Fanatics will see zero of my money then.

 

[Detective]

Calm down, guys. Fortunately, the article specifies that all this won't affect the album dedicated to Serie A and Serie B (Calciatori). We'll probably no longer see the Italian national soccer team with their original kits in the Euro or WC collections. However, if Panini were to lose the rights to publish Calciatori or WC, they might start thinking about shutting down the company forever...

 

[GStephens]

However, if Panini were to lose the rights to publish Calciatori or WC, they might start thinking about shutting down the company forever...

I expect Panini to be a legacy brand that belongs to Fanatics in the same way Merlin is by 2030.

There were rumours about them buying Panini last year. Fanatics will absolutely definitely win the FIFA rights soon with 2030 being the last Panini WC. It may already be Panini under Fanatics by then.

Panini lost major US sports licenses and they are going to take a big hit. They’re already done for, it’s just not official yet.

It sounds dramatic and a leap but it’s going to happen

 

[Peakster]

Panini are about to lose the NFL rights as well.

 

[Peakster]

I agree with what others have said about the World Cup - 2030 will be the last one Panini Produce.

But I hope they will continue to do the EFL and WSL sticker collections.

I'm already thinking about what collections I might be going after next season - it's quite a short list.

I think next season might be the first one for a long time that I don't collect any card sets.

 

[LeicesterRob]

I agree with what others have said about the World Cup - 2030 will be the last one Panini Produce.

But I hope they will continue to do the EFL and WSL sticker collections.

I'm already thinking about what collections I might be going after next season - it's quite a short list.

I think next season might be the first one for a long time that I don't collect any card sets.

I'm with you on this as it has narrowed down my collecting so it brings costs right down. No point wasting time on too many collections now as they are over priced and there are far too many variations making it impossible to do too many.

Around 2012-19 we were spoilt by Panini so we spent more with them.

I enjoyed EFL and I'm doing a collection for my good friend @Only Good Stickers as we're swapping EFL for Calci. I've not forgotten you! It's coming along nicely! Just those pesky limited editions!

I'll do Panini World Cup properly this year, enjoy it for what it is and saviour it as it could be one of the last collections worth doing for the biggest tournament in the World.

 

[Detective]

I expect Panini to be a legacy brand that belongs to Fanatics in the same way Merlin is by 2030.

There were rumours about them buying Panini last year. Fanatics will absolutely definitely win the FIFA rights soon with 2030 being the last Panini WC. It may already be Panini under Fanatics by then.

Panini lost major US sports licenses and they are going to take a big hit. They’re already done for, it’s just not official yet.

It sounds dramatic and a leap but it’s going to happen

I truly believe Panini will never sell to Topps... they were just unfounded rumors. Panini participates in bidding wars to produce Calciatori, where the highest bidder wins the rights (I think that's how it worked). I don't understand the decision to sell the rights to the Italian national football team, but I don't think it was a decision made solely by the Serie A League; Panini probably gave its consent as well. Perhaps the Italian company is considering taking back the UCL rights and is therefore evaluating what to keep and what to acquire. But these are just my guesses.

 

[Only Good Stickers]

Fanatics is unfortunately destroying the sticker hobby, transforming it in pure business.
Panini has gone done in the latest years, but still producing some great albums like Calciatori and EFL, and some unexpected gems like the World Darts Championship.

@LeicesterRob I've just preordered today the Calciatori Upgrade for you and me. For the loose sticker set I need some more time, but eventually getting there!

 

[Peakster]

This year's Topps PL sticker collection was OK - and very cheap to collect as virtually a full set could be found in a box of 100 packets.

Didn't like the CL sticker collection this year much.

MA is uncollectable now - you can get about half of the cards that are listed easily enough and then there are hundreds of expensive "extras".

I have an unfinished album for the latest MA Extra collection - it will stay that way.

 

[GStephens]

I truly believe Panini will never sell to Topps...

My friend there is only one thing for certain - money talks.

If Panini loses all the major football licenses they are not going to stick around selling Italian Brainrot and Bluey stickers if there is a lot of money on the table.

With every license they lose they have less revenue to bid for other licenses. It’s not a case that they lose the Premier League licence and so have loads of money to buy something else. They lost a lot of future revenue, they can’t afford it.

The best sets they do now are the more niche ones like EFL, WSL. Of course Calciatori is incredible and La Liga is good most times. But they are on a steep downward trajectory. We are witnessing the collapse of an iconic brand.

Fanatics owning everything (or the other way around) is terrible for the collectors. Competition is the only thing that motivates otherwise you just get rubbish for the sake of keeping a license going.

Cards and stickers would become like the Sony Spiderman movies - just releasing garbage every few years to stop Marvel getting the license back

 

[Peakster]

I hope we will all have a few more years of good collecting yet folks !!

 

[GStephens]

The end of Panini continues to get ever closer. Alan's blog has posted an article about Topps/Fanatics now having exclusive rights to both the men’s and women’s teams of Brazil (from 2027), England and Germany (from 2031), and Italy (from 2035) - all of which are currently licensed to Panini.

So in what will surely be the final Panini World Cup album in 2030 the glorious yellow of Brazil won't even be licensed.

The bit that interests me is the section:

"Under these agreements, Topps and Fanatics would gain the ability to use each federation’s full intellectual property across trading cards and sticker products, including team crests, kits, and active player names and images. Rights to former national team players, however, would remain outside the scope of these deals and would require separate negotiations"

So they can't start producing 1/1 items of Pele, Zico, Ronaldinho, Baggio, Moore, Gascoigne, Klinsmann etc which means it's really a big f you to Panini and another nail in their coffin.

I expect more of these types of deals to be announced. Topps/Fanatics will take control of all the profitable individual team/country licenses they can which will devalue the league/tournament licenses Panini still hold until they are no longer able to continue to retain them.

It's hard to fell too much sympathy for Panini on this particular news given their embarrassing marketing of products with the 5 major licenses in 2024 when Topps produced their equally embarrassing Euro 2024 sets. Panini have been beaten at their own game.

This is going to be the end guys. Enjoy the 2026 set while it still has all the licenses, the 2030 one is going to be worse and then it's over to Fanatics.

 

[LeicesterRob]

The end of Panini continues to get ever closer. Alan's blog has posted an article about Topps/Fanatics now having exclusive rights to both the men’s and women’s teams of Brazil (from 2027), England and Germany (from 2031), and Italy (from 2035) - all of which are currently licensed to Panini.

So in what will surely be the final Panini World Cup album in 2030 the glorious yellow of Brazil won't even be licensed.

The bit that interests me is the section:

"Under these agreements, Topps and Fanatics would gain the ability to use each federation’s full intellectual property across trading cards and sticker products, including team crests, kits, and active player names and images. Rights to former national team players, however, would remain outside the scope of these deals and would require separate negotiations"

So they can't start producing 1/1 items of Pele, Zico, Ronaldinho, Baggio, Moore, Gascoigne, Klinsmann etc which means it's really a big f you to Panini and another nail in their coffin.

I expect more of these types of deals to be announced. Topps/Fanatics will take control of all the profitable individual team/country licenses they can which will devalue the league/tournament licenses Panini still hold until they are no longer able to continue to retain them.

It's hard to fell too much sympathy for Panini on this particular news given their embarrassing marketing of products with the 5 major licenses in 2024 when Topps produced their equally embarrassing Euro 2024 sets. Panini have been beaten at their own game.

This is going to be the end guys. Enjoy the 2026 set while it still has all the licenses, the 2030 one is going to be worse and then it's over to Fanatics.

This is very sad for Panini and it's not a situation I like one little bit.

I did read at the bottom of Alan's blog:

'In a separate development, Reuters has reported that Panini shareholders are considering a potential sale of the company. A decision on whether to accept outside investment is expected by the end of 2026, with the company’s valuation estimated at around $5.8 billion.'

The key thing we all want is to have good quality products that the customer wants aka a well made album that is fairly straight forward to collect to represent the tournament we love.

Mega albums of 1000 stickers isn't needed nor are the boxes of cards that people buy for £000s to just try and get the lottery ticket of one printed card worth more than the box. Both of these recent developments for stickers/cards appear to be very detrimental to the overall collecting experience. It alienates a lot of new collectors too.

Perhaps the end position will be the overall business ends up eating itself.