Panini Ballers England Edition Review, More Than Just a World Cup Fad?

With England on the telly most nights during the World Cup, football chat has taken over family life, and the kids wanted in on it too, not just watching from the sofa. So we tried Panini Ballers England Edition, a trading card collection built around England’s men’s and women’s teams, to see if it lived up to the hype, and whether it’s still worth buying once the World Cup ends.

Why It Caught Our Eye:

• What stopped the scroll: A football card collection the kids can actually play with, not just stick in an album and forget.
• The bit we love: Both England men’s and women’s teams get equal billing, and the tin from the Mega Pack keeps swaps tidy for school.
• The bottom line: Good quality cards, genuinely fun gameplay, and a set that will still get used long after the final whistle.

We were sent Panini Ballers England Edition to try in exchange for our honest thoughts, all opinions below are our own.

What is Panini Ballers England Edition?

Panini Ballers England Edition is a trading card collection built around 30 England men’s and women’s players, including Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka, Lauren James and Beth Mead. Every card has two pop-out Ballers on it, so instead of just collecting and filing them away, the kids can pop them out and actually play with them.

The full collection runs to 158 cards, which works out at 316 Ballers once you count both sides of each card. There are eight Golden Ballers with the top play rating of 15, plus 15 Limited Edition cards with a rainbow foil finish. Each card comes with a play rating, so there’s a proper collect and compete side to it, not just picture swapping.

It’s aimed at kids aged 6 and up, and everything you need to get started, plus a QR code linking to the full game guide, comes in the Starter Pack.

Is Panini Ballers England Edition Worth It?

For us, yes. If you’ve got a football-mad child, this gives them something to do in the build-up to a match or during half-time, and keeps the excitement going once the final whistle’s blown too. It also doubles up nicely as a boredom buster for the school holidays, and there’s a bit of a creative side to it as well, sorting the binder, choosing a Slammer sticker, deciding how to show off the tin.

It’s a solid gifting idea as well. A Starter Pack plus a Multi-set or Mega Pack makes a proper little bundle without costing a fortune, and because it’s not tied to any single team’s season, it holds its value as a present well beyond the World Cup.

How We Used It

We started with the Starter Pack, which comes with the binder, gameboard, guide, a Slammer, sticker sheet and a Limited Edition card, then added a Multi-set and a Mega Pack on top. The unboxing itself was half the fun, working out which players you’d got from each packet kept the kids busy for a good while, and then came hours of sorting them into the binder in the right order.

The guide has three ways to play. Slammit has everyone piling their Ballers together and taking turns throwing the Slammer at the stack, and whoever’s cards land face down scores points. Shoooot uses the pitch printed on the back of the guide, where you flick your Ballers towards a goal, and that was easily our favourite, simple enough for younger kids to get the hang of quickly. Hotshot has everyone flicking towards a target in the middle, closest wins.

Slammit needs a bit more strength and aim behind the throw, so that one might suit older kids better. Ours found the shooting game far more fun to actually win at.

What We Liked

• The card quality is genuinely good, they don’t feel flimsy even after a fair bit of handling
• The tin from the Mega Pack is brilliant for carrying swaps to school without them getting bent or damaged
• Both the men’s and women’s England teams are included, which felt like a nice touch
• The mix of styles, gold, limited edition, and the regular variants, gives the collection some real visual variety

What Could Be Better

• Working out the right order for the binder took us longer than it should have, the cards go back to back and there are small numbers in the corner of each plastic page that are easy to miss
• A few of the players featured aren’t currently in the squad appearing on the telly during the World Cup, which caused a bit of confusion for the kids, nothing major, just worth a quick explanation before you hand the pack over

At a Glance:

• Product Type: Trading card collection
• Age Range: 6 years and up
• Starter Pack: 3 packets, binder, gameboard, guide, Slammer, sticker sheet, 1 Limited Edition
• Full Collection: 158 cards, 316 Ballers
• Players Featured: 30 England men’s and women’s footballers

Starter Pack and Mega Pack, or Starter Pack and Multi-Set, Which Should You Buy?

If you’re trying to decide how to top up your Starter Pack, it usually comes down to these two combinations.

Our pick is the Starter Pack and Mega Pack. It costs a bit more, but you get a metal tin to carry swaps into school without them getting bent or damaged, and that’s what swung it for us over having a few extra loose cards.

Our Verdict

Panini Ballers England Edition earns its place as more than just a World Cup tie-in. The card quality held up well, the games gave the kids something to actually do rather than just look at, and including both England teams made it feel properly inclusive. Yes, the binder order takes a minute to work out, but that’s a small hiccup in an otherwise good value collection that will keep going long after the tournament ends.

If this one has gone straight to the top of the wish list, you might want to check out our other parenting reviews too, for more toys, gifts and creative play ideas.

Grab Your Own Panini Ballers England Edition