Panini World Cup 2018 stickers: When is the iconic sticker album release date? How much will it cost?

Forget the actual football, one of the highlights of a World Cup tournament is those Panini stickers and this year's collection are set to go on sale.

Starting with the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, Panini has been publishing albums for every tournament since but the cost to complete the collection has never been higher.

The stickers hit UK stores on Thursday, March 22, and will set you back 80p for a pack of five stickers - that is a 30p increase on four years ago.

Given there will be around 700 players in Russia each with their own stick, plus managers, stadia and possible extras for tournament mascots and such, those new prices translate to around £130 in the miraculous event of no duplicates.

This year's release will also propel sticker collecting into the 21st Century with the introduction of a digital sticker album available online and via the Panini Digital Sticker Album app.

using the online platform, collectors will be able to swap duplicates for stickers they need, while extra stickers and special badges will be available via redeemable codes from Coca-Cola products.

Packs will be available to purchase at most high-street stores, such as W.H. Smiths, while Amazon are selling multipacks including up to 500 stickers.