THOUSANDS of soccer fans broke a record exchanging FIFA World Cup stickers!
Are you a soccer fan?
An Italian company named Panini has been making awesome football-themed sticker albums since 1970 – that’s over 50 years ago! – all decorated with images of your beloved superstar strikers and goalies…
And since then, collectors have traded them for the chance to finally get their favourite squad!
The packages come in blind boxes with limited availability, encouraging friendly competition between fans – especially during the FIFA World Cup!
Sounds fun, right?
So on 12 July, soccer and sticker fans from all over North America had the chance to take part in the world’s largest sports sticker exchange in 8 hours (multiple venue) of all time – and left with an updated collection, new friends and a world record title!
Taking place in 4 separate locations in USA and Mexico, 4,446 people participated in the record-breaking swap.
WOW!
So what exactly happened on the day?
Once they arrived at one of the locations, participants in the sticker swap were clearly directed to enter the building, make a trade, and then exit the venue to continue the trading fun.
Of course, our Guinness World Records Adjudicator Michael Empric was there to monitor the attempt, and he said that it was amazing to witness this cross-cultural celebration of football, nostalgia and community.
“I was shocked at how seriously attendees took their sticker trades, with many setting up camp for hours after participating in the attempt, looking for a perfect trade to complete their albums!” he told us.
That’s what we call dedication!
After the 8 hours the event was over and that’s when…
Former Mexican footballer Pável Pardo showed up to congratulate all the participants and take photos with them!
Have you ever met a soccer star in real life?
So congratulations to everyone that took part in this incredible event – you are all Officially Amazing!