Football cards.Boxes, packs and tins from Topps, Panini and Match Attax

The agreements with UEFA and FIFA

Topps' agreement with UEFA for the club competitions runs through 2033. Panini holds the World Cup licence through 2030, and from 2031 Topps holds it. The history of the World Cup albums is in the sticker guide. Cards from the club competitions and from England's top league are listed under Champions League and Premier League.

The trading card games and the premium series

Match Attax began with the Premier League in the 2007/08 season, and Panini's Adrenalyn XL arrived in 2009. The Limited Edition cards in Match Attax come in multipacks and tins, and the series is also available as an advent calendar. For your collection there are card binders for football cards. The rules of the trading card games, the premium series and the history of the licences are covered series by series in the football guide.

The history of football cards

In 1887 toy dealer John Baines of Bradford applied for a patent on his football cards, which were cut in a shield shape with the teams' kits and sold six to a pack for a halfpenny. The oldest football cards from cigarette packets belonging to a known series are Billy Bassett and Charlie Athersmith in Godfrey Phillips General Interest from 1896. The Swedish Alfa cards, with Pelé in the series from the 1958 World Cup, have their own section in the guide to the value of football cards.