GOT GOT GOT NEED
For many they are a key part of the World Cup build up, but it has been claimed pupils have been banned from swapping Panini football stickers in their school playground because 'it's annoying for teachers'.
The collectables, featuring stars such as Christiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Neymar, have reportedly been blamed for a number of playground bustups between young football fans.
It has been claimed that teachers at Battyeford Primary School in Mirfield, West Yorkshire, became so fed up as their pupils' desire for the stickers reached fever pitch that they have banned them from the playground.
Craze: Pupils have been banned from swapping Panini football stickers in their school playground because 'it's annoying for teachers', it is claimed
'Pupils were getting into fights and teachers were getting annoyed,' childminder Lisa Davies-Unger, 47, who looks after children at the school, told The Sun.
'It's a distraction so I suppose that led to the ban.'
However, a spokesman at the school said children had not been banned from bringing the stickers to school, and were even encouraged to swap the stickers as part of a school club.
'There is no ban on children bringing stickers into school,' he said.
'Children are welcome to bring in their stickers and they are doing so with the blessing of staff. We even have a special club where children can get together and swap them in their free time.'
Panini, which has the exclusive rights from FIFA to produce and sell the tournament's official sticker album expects this year's edition to be the most popular yet, with billions sold before and during this year's competition.
Rules: Teachers at Battyeford Primary School in Mirfield, West Yorkshire, deny children have been banned from bringing stickers to school
Collection: Panini, which has the exclusive rights from FIFA to produce and sell World Cup official sticker albums expects this year's edition to be the most popular yet
Already 40million of the packets, which sell for around 50p, have been bought - and no doubt swapped - worldwide.
And last week it was reported that a teacher in the Columbian city of Bucaramanga had been accused of confiscating stickers from pupils, and using them to complete his own Panini album.
According to local media a 13-year-old boy reported seeing the teacher in the staff room filling his album with the stickers taken from children.
Last month Panini had to reassure fans in Brazil that there would not be a shortage of stickers after thieves hijacked a van containing 300,000 of them.