Football’s biggest stage will introduce a new feature at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with first-time players set to wear special debut patches during their opening appearances at the tournament.
The initiative forms part of a licensing agreement that will see Fanatics replace Panini as FIFA’s partner for trading cards and stickers from 2031.
Under the arrangement, players making their World Cup debut will wear a patch attached to the upper-right side of their shirts. After the match, the patch will be removed and turned into a collectable Topps trading card.
The design of the patch has not yet been revealed, while FIFA is still expected to confirm full details of how the process will operate during the tournament.
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The idea is not entirely new, having already been introduced in the United States sports and Major League Soccer in 2024 through a similar partnership with Fanatics.
In MLS, clubs receive a stock of debut patches, which are attached to jerseys before a player’s first appearance.
After the game, the patch is transferred onto a trading card and inserted into collectable hobby boxes produced by Topps.
Each Chrome MLS hobby box retails for about $120 (£88) and contains 21 packs of four cards, including autograph cards.
MLS debut cards are signed by the players involved, although FIFA has not confirmed whether World Cup debut cards will also carry autographs.
The new system is expected to create one of the largest collections of tournament memorabilia in World Cup history.
Reports indicate that the 2026 competition alone could produce more than 600 debut cards.
Several players are set to make their first appearances on football’s biggest stage, including Erling Haaland and Lamine Yamal.
The tournament will also feature several nations making long-awaited returns or first-ever appearances. Cape Verde, Curacao, Jordan and Uzbekistan are set for their first World Cup campaigns.
Austria, the Czech Republic, DR Congo, Haiti, Iraq, New Zealand, Norway, Paraguay, Scotland and Turkey are all returning after long absences.
Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Ivory Coast will return to the tournament for the first time in 12 years and are expected to have squads largely made up of debutants.
Although the Fanatics partnership officially begins in 2031, the debut patches from the 2026 and 2030 tournaments are expected to form part of a major World Cup trading card collection once the agreement comes into effect.
