Mexico sent Panini photos of mens team for Womens WC stickers

Many national football federations pay far less attention to their women's teams than their men's sides, which might have had something to do with some of the difficulties Panini had in assembling their first ever album of stickers for the Women's World Cup. Panini Germany spokeswoman Christine Froehler says that one federation's oversight was kind of a big one. From the AFP:

Mexico's football federation, for example, mistakenly sent Panini pictures of its men's team, while the album has the same photo for two North Korean players, Jon Myong Hwa and Kim Kyong Hwa, she said.

But the company, headquartered in Italy, said that its gamble on the event had paid off, having already sold 4.5 million packets of stickers to wholesalers. It is even printing one million more to meet strong demand.

The one difference from the men's stickers? These don't list how much the players weigh. Also, since the Mexican federation appears to have eventually gotten it right (judging by the Dinora Garza sticker pictured above), they do not feature photos of men.

Between the strong sales of the Panini stickers (which will only be available in Germany) and the fact that the host nation has already sold 75 percent of available tickets (about 670,000 in total), fans are proving their interest in the tournament. Maybe that will make federations pay more attention when sending out official pictures.

Photo: Getty