Topps to take licenses for four major international teams from Panini.
Topps will reportedly acquire rights for the men's and women's teams of Brazil, England, Germany, and Italy.
Topps, the Fanatics‑owned trading card giant, is poised to secure future licensing rights for four of international football’s most commercially valuable national teams, according to The Athletic. The deals would cover 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.
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.
A senior official from a European federation told The Athletic:
"We thought it was going to be a difficult choice, because of how long we’ve been with Panini. But having seen the vision and the innovation and the energy that Fanatics has brought to the category, they really impressed us, and it became an easy choice." (What he meant to say was, "Topps/Fanatics offered us a huge amount of money", Ed.)
Panini will retain rights for the upcoming 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup in North America, as well as the 2030 edition, under a deal announced in late 2023.
Meanwhile, Panini recently strengthened its North American presence by signing a multi‑year exclusive trading card partnership with the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), covering both the league and its players’ association.
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.
Terrible, but completely unsurprising, news. Panini will lose the license for FIFA products after 2030 which won't even have the official Brazil kit.
ReplyDeleteThe disgrace of Euro 2024 by Topps and now this with Panini is all the fault of UEFA & FIFA. If a country wants to sell out to a particular company that's fine and they should be allowed to do that for any product they want - except for the international tournaments. A license for the Euro's, Copa America or World Cup etc should overrule anything else and be forced to include fully licenses kits for whoever owns the license for that tournament.
In 2030 once they lose the license and the monopoly is complete this hobby really is on the fast track to death, and trust me that is actually a massive understatement.
Hi Gary,
DeleteI totally agree with everything you've said. I have always thought that licenses for the major tournaments should overrule any individual licensing agreements. Tradition means nothing, it's all about the money.
And just look at some of the designs in Topps' Chrome UCC collection, it's like AI gone mad.
Salut les amis, faites comme moi, achetez un peu de FUTERA quand vous le pouvez... aussi je me suis remis aux LEGO et aux puzzles, ça coûte moins cher ;)
ReplyDeleteHi Thierry,
DeleteI think the hobby is changing and not for the better. I can see more and more collectors moving to other interests.