THE BIGGEST FOOTBALL FANATIC AMONG GRANDMOTHERS: Who Is Dunja, the Woman Who Has Lived for the World Cup and Sticker Albums Since Mexico ’86?

When you think of passionate football sticker collectors and sports statisticians, you probably picture teenagers or young adults. But Grandma Dunja shatters every stereotype. Her love for football and collecting FIFA World Cup sticker albums is so dedicated and meticulous that even many professional sports commentators and statisticians would admire her knowledge.

Grandma Dunja doesn’t just stick stickers into albums—she actively follows team lineups, goalscorers, and even substitutions during matches, carefully recording every detail in her personal archive.

It All Began in a Hospital in 1986

Her unusual hobby dates back to the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, sparked by a touching family story. At the time, her 16-year-old son was in the hospital and asked his mother to keep track of the tournament results so he wouldn’t miss what was happening on the pitch. That act of motherly love soon grew into a lifelong passion for football that has now lasted four decades.

Sadly, a few years later, in 1994, Grandma Dunja suffered a devastating personal loss when she became a widow. She chose to fill the emptiness and unexpected free time in her life by collecting World Cup sticker albums, finding comfort and peace in the hobby.

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Four Boxes of Stickers and the Endless Search for Livaković

To date, she has successfully placed 980 stickers into her albums. The COVID-19 pandemic made collecting particularly difficult, and during the lockdown she was unable to acquire many stickers. However, for the most recent World Cup, she decided to go all in. She bought four full boxes of sticker packs, spending a total of €208. Out of them, only 300 stickers were new, while as many as 500 turned out to be duplicates.

Grandma Dunja says she has a special affection for the Spanish national team, but her favorite footballer of all time is the brilliant Luka Modrić. Still, it was another player who gave her the biggest headache.

For a long time, she searched everywhere for the one final sticker missing from her collection—that of goalkeeper Dominik Livaković. Completing the album seemed like an impossible mission until Grandma Dunja made a crucial move and joined a sticker collectors’ association. It opened the door to large-scale trading events, allowing her to exchange duplicates and finally obtain the historic last sticker that completed her collection.

Grandma Dunja is living proof that sport knows no age limits and that passion for a hobby can overcome even life’s greatest hardships.