Short answers, pulled from the story.
Panini was founded in 1961 by Giuseppe Panini in Modena, Italy. Giuseppe and his brother Benito had been running a newspaper distribution office when they discovered unsold figurines from a Milan company, sold three million packets, and used that success to launch the business.
Panini published its first FIFA World Cup sticker album for the 1970 World Cup in Mexico. It was also the first time Panini used multilingual captions and sold stickers outside of Italy.
In 2017, a 1970 World Cup Panini sticker album signed by Pele sold for a record £10,450.
Panini America is the U.S. subsidiary formed in 2009 after the Panini Group purchased Donruss Playoff LP. It is based in Irving, Texas and holds official licences for the NBA, NFL, NASCAR, WWE, FIFA, and several entertainment properties.
Panini's licence with the Major League Baseball Players Association expired at the end of 2022. Without it, the company can only feature players not covered by the union contract, and must remove team logos and MLB trademarks from uniforms. Collectors call the resulting cards "pajama cards" because the edited uniforms resemble plain clothing.
In May 2026, Fanatics signed an exclusive collective licensing deal with FIFA to become the exclusive licensor of collectible cards, stickers, and card games for the World Cup and other FIFA events, effective from 2031 onward. This ended a partnership between FIFA and Panini that had lasted over five decades.