Soccer fans in New Jersey, NYC join attempt to break sticker exchange world record
Soccer fans in the Tri-State Area and Mexico traded Panini World Cup stickers Sunday in hopes of breaking the world record for the largest sports sticker exchange.
In the Tri-State Area, sticker swaps were held at American Dream Mall in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and Rockefeller Center in New York City. Two other events were held in Mexico City and Guadalajara, Mexico.
The goal was to surpass the current record of 2,577 one-to-one swaps. The swap events took place at all four participating locations simultaneously.
Connecting collectors
Wendy Hernandez, 18, from Union City, New Jersey, was among those helping work toward breaking the Guinness World Record for the largest sports sticker swap across multiple venues in an eight-hour period.
"I've never exchanged any of them in my life, so it's kind of like I'm learning how to exchange and talk to people," she said.
For a first-timer, she was doing well – 165 swaps of Panini Official World Cup 2026 stickers!
But it was hard to beat 12-year-old Aayden Diaz, from Morristown, New Jersey. He walked out having collected all 980 stickers.
"It's, like, exciting being part of a world record because that's gonna go in the history books," he said.
It's a way for collectors to feel even more involved as the World Cup Final at MetLife Stadium approaches next Sunday.
"It's just a nice moment to kind of feel connected to everybody, whether you're rooting for the same team or different teams," Manhattan resident Chris String said.
Guinness World Record guidelines
In order to officially break the record, there are rules that have to be followed, said Chloe McCarthy, an official adjudicator for Guinness World Records.
"We have very strict guidelines, and thankfully, we have a lot of staff members, a lot of witnesses," McCarthy said, "and as an official adjudicator, I have the eyes and ears on site right now."
All swaps are recorded by staff members into a logbook.
The swap ends at 7 p.m., so adjudicators have not yet announced if the record was officially broken.
