There’s no escaping it – World Cup fever is on the way and once again the philatelic world will promote the biggest sporting tournament in the Universe.

The match tickets are rapidly selling out, people around the world are buying larger than life TV’s despite the tough economic crisis and thousands of young children are collecting the popular match cards at schools throughout the countries.

Postal Administrations have been issuing World Cup stamps for many decades but interest on these philatelic items seem to be deteriorating.

For the 2010 South Africa World Cup, the first commemorative issue was released in 2006 by the host nation and since then, South Africa has issued an attractive miniature sheet every consecutive year.

But what do collectors want to see on the stamps? Is it the new generation of footballers such as Leo Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, or maybe is it a return to the 1966 World Cup glory of England when Bobby Moore lifted the World Cup issued by Royal Mail or possibly a tribute to Pele by Brazil Post?

Whatever your philatelic taste, there are no doubts that there will be a commemorative stamp issued this year for the World Cup which will be of your liking, even if you don’t collect football stamps.

However, the fact is that most of the major Postal Administrations used to issue World Cup stamps every four years during the 80’s and 90’s but as time has gone by, interest on football stamps as a thematic topic has dwindled and these has make them all reconsider if it is worthwhile to issue a set of football stamps before the events finishes, or is it better for them to wait and see if their country actually wins as this would mean huge sales in their home country!

According to an online research produced by www.worldstampnews.com team, the following countries are issuing World Cup stamps in 2010;

• South Africa (HOST NATION)
• Algeria
• Bosnia-Herzegovina
• Cyprus
• Germany
• Guinea
• Hungary
• Indonesia
• Lesotho
• Malawi
• Mauritius
• Mexico
• Monaco
• Nambia
• Netherlands
• San Marino
• Sierra Leone
• Slovenia
• Swaziland
• Zambia
• Zimbabwe

By simply browsing through the list above, one cannot ignore the fact that apart from a handful of countries listed in the list, the rest of the countries have not even qualified to compete in the 2010 World Cup or have ever had any real aspirations of winning the event! 

Unfortunately, World Cup stamps will no longer have the former glory they used to have many years ago despite general interest in philately being on the increase. Collectors nowadays have become more choosy on which thematic topics to collect with Birds, Wildlife, Trains, Flowers and Royalty still on the top of their lists.

BUT, if all the postal administrations of the world unite with major philatelic companies and all of them together promote the 2016 World Cup stamps jointly, maybe in four years from now the young children outside the school-gates will be trading stamps with their friends and placing these inside their own albums and that will be the day when stamp collecting will see the boom experienced in the early 70’s.

published June 2nd, 2010