Panini World Cup stickers, albums selling fast in NYC: "We can't keep them in stock"

The Panini World Cup sticker album is a massive phenomenon amongst soccer fans, and it's selling fast in New York City as the FIFA World Cup gets closer.

The album is a tradition that spans nearly 60 years, since its debut for the 1970 tournament in Mexico.

Fans buy an album and begin their journey to filling it up by purchasing hundreds of stickers of players, teams and badges. A page is dedicated to every national team taking part in that year's World Cup.

Steve Barbato, general manager at Dave and Adam's card store in Midtown, said the excitement has already started.

"These have been insane. It's been every day, people are coming in and buying boxes of stickers, single packs, albums," he said.

This is the largest World Cup ever, with 48 teams, making it the largest Panini album with 980 stickers.

"There's more nations involved, so it gets more people involved," Barbato said.

Sticker trading events are expected to take place across the area, so that fans can gather and swap duplicates.

"We had an event ... two weekends ago, and the store was a mob scene all day," Barbato said. "We can't keep them in stock."

MetLife Stadium in New Jersey will host eight World Cup matches, including the Final on July 19. The tournament kicks off in Mexico on June 11. The first game at MetLife will be held on June 13.

There will be watch parties, fan zones and street festivals across the Tri-State Area throughout the tournament.