Interesting article - Topps is replacing Panini as the official sticker rights holder for Euro 2024. This has upset Euro sticker collectors as Panini (who were the company that produced the stickers for Euro from 1977 - 2020) as they will be forced to collect Topps stickers for Euro, which is not as an extensive set due to Panini holding rights to certain players.
Topps responded "While we are disappointed that a small number of players are missing, this is due to the tournament's former sticker partner having blocked certain parts of the collection to the detriment of the fans. Unlike the former sticker partner, we are committed to the fans and believe the offering of stickers and cards -- and range of current and former players -- will get everyone excited for the tournament."
While Panini has said to ESPN "Panini has been synonymous with football for over 60 years, and we remain committed to producing the best possible product for our collectors [and] we look forward to doing this for generations to come, we are extremely proud to hold the official rights to the England Senior teams and feel passionately about creating official product for collectors within the rights available to us."
Interesting story, I am all for competition as it makes for better products, but when competition hinders the user experience, and in this case collectors, it is truly a sad outcome.
https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/40332595/how-topps-vs-panini-battle-ruined-euro-2024-sticker-albums-everyone
