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12 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 14 JUNE 2026 SPORTS WORLD CUP 2026 Collector chases World Cup history one signature at a time THE World Cup has kicked off, and with it the race that grips Malta every four years— complet- ing the Panini sticker album. Mark Camenzuli has already finished his, in under a month, keeping up a tradition he has held since 2006 of completing every album before the tournament be- gins. But Camenzuli's collection goes far beyond stickers. The collec- tor, who owns every World Cup album since 1990, has spent years filling them with the signatures of the players who appear on their pages. "My collection actually start- ed beyond the albums. It started with signed photographs," he said during a visit to the MaltaToday office, where he tagged along a small part of his vast collection. It began in 2016 with a birthday gift gone wrong. Camenzuli want- ed something unique for a friend who supports Manchester Unit- ed, so he ordered signed photo- graphs of well-known players Mi- chael Carrick, Wayne Rooney and Paul Pogba. Carrick's arrived a month after his friend's birthday, and the other requests remained unanswered to this day. His first album signature came that same year, when French World Cup winner David Treze- guet visited Malta as a guest of the Juventus Club Vero Amore, in Birkirkara. The first thing Trezeg- uet signed was Camenzuli's 1998 France album. Collectors work in three ways, Camenzuli explained: Meeting players in person, writing to them through the post, and trading with other collectors. The in-person method does not always work. He recently met Fabio Cannavaro, the captain who lifted the 2006 World Cup for It- aly, with his albums at the ready, but the defender was in a hurry and Camenzuli had to settle for a selfie. However, there is an unwritten golden rule among collectors: if you send something, expect not to receive it back. He has lost many photographs and stickers this way, but the risk brings rewards. Dino Zoff, who captained Italy to World Cup glory in 1982, signed several stickers for him by post despite the two never having met. Another prized return is a pho- tograph signed by four German World Cup winners: Horst Eckel, Franz Beckenbauer, Lothar Mat- thäus and Philipp Lahm. Trading with fellow Maltese col- lectors brought him one of his fa- vourite pieces of all: a newspaper signed by Brazilian legend Pelé. A piece of football history Asked which piece he would keep if he could only choose one, Camenzuli pointed to a jigsaw puzzle showing the official poster of the 1954 World Cup, bought at the FIFA museum in Zurich. He completed it the day he submitted his first university thesis. He then took a huge risk—the puzzle came with the address of Horst Eckel, who was then the last living mem- ber of the 1954 West Germany winning team, aged around 88. "I did not want to lose this piece of football history," he said. "But not only did I receive it back, I re- ceived it with his signature on it." Despite supporting Juventus, Camenzuli dreams of complet- ing AC Milan's famous Dutch trio from the late 1980s and early 1990s. He has Ruud Gullit and hopes to add Marco van Basten and Frank Rijkaard to the list. He is also closing in on a full team: 12 signatures out of 17 from the Czech Republic squad in his 2006 album, including Petr Cech and Pavel Nedved. As for who will lift the trophy this summer, Camenzuli is back- ing Spain or the Netherlands. This writer's money is on France. Who do you think will win? JULIANA ZAMMIT jzammit@mediatoday.com.mt Mark Camenzuli, with his collection of Panini sticker albums Three hosts, three stories THE FIFA 2026 World Cup has many firsts attached to it, not least that it is being hosted by three countries— Mexico, Canada and the US. The tournament, which kicked off last Thursday and ends with the final on 19 July, is being played in 16 cities across the north American continent. The US will be hosting games in 11 cities, Mexico in three and Canada in two. This will be the third edition of the World Cup to be played on Mexican soil, making the coun- try the only one to host three tournaments. Mex- ico hosted the 1970 and 1986 tournaments. The US hosted the 1994 World Cup, while for Canada the 2026 tournament will be the country's first as a host nation. Mexico, the US and Can- ada qualified automati- cally as host nations. In footballing terms, Mexico is the best-ranked host nation with the latest FI- FA rankings placing it at 14. The US is not far off, ranked at 17, while Cana- da trails behind at 30. In their opening match on Thursday, Mexico beat South Africa 2-0 in Mexi- co City. On Friday Canada opened proceedings with a 1-1 draw against Bosnia Herzegovina in Toronto, while on Saturday, the US beat Paraguay 4-1 in Los Angeles. KURT SANSONE ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt Signed pictures of Italian 10982 World Cup champions Dino Zoff (left) and Paolo Rossi The 1954 emblem jigsaw puzzle