Copy Of First Ever Panini World Cup Album To Go Under Hammer

A rare copy of the first-ever Panini World Cup sticker album will be auctioned in Market Harborough after gathering dust in a garage for decades.

It commemorates the 1970 World Cup in Mexico and is set to make between £1,200 and £1,800 when it goes under the hammer at Gildings next week.

The album was given to Andrew Knott from Arthingworth by his Aunt on his 12th birthday and he recently found it in a box.

Andrew with the rare sticker album

Unusually the album already had all the stickers in, including the likes England’s Bobby Moore, Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer and Brazil’s Pele, as his Aunt worked for Leicester-based Thorpe & Porter, the album’s Leicester-based distributor.

Andrew said: “As my 12th birthday present, it was amazing to be presented with the complete album, although the fun of swaps in the playground with my friends was lost on me.

“But after years of it sitting in the garage without any attention, the time is right to part ways with it.

“The mice got the other footballing programmes and material that it was stored away with, but thankfully Panini was off the menu for them!”

The England team page in the album

The album is a highly coveted item for collectors and holds special significance for English football fans, as the 1970 World Cup, which was won by Brazil, was the only time during that decade that England qualified for the tournament.

Gildings Director Will Gilding told HFM he expects interest from across the world when it is auctioned and it was a very lucky find for Andrew: