{"id":2802,"date":"2022-11-18T17:48:54","date_gmt":"2022-11-18T17:48:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.icons.com\/news\/?p=2802"},"modified":"2022-12-12T14:33:45","modified_gmt":"2022-12-12T14:33:45","slug":"from-our-ceo-welcome-to-the-fifa-world-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.icons.com\/news\/2022\/11\/18\/from-our-ceo-welcome-to-the-fifa-world-cup\/","title":{"rendered":"From Our CEO: Welcome to the FIFA World Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

My earliest memory in life is staying up late to watch the 1978 FIFA World Cup final. I was five-years-old. I can’t quite recall exactly what happened but I do remember a man in orange leaping like a salmon to smash home a header. Everyone else remembers Mario Kempes and the ticker tape; all I could remember was Dick Nanninga.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I was a kid I loved Panini World Cup sticker books and completed the 1986 edition \u2013 that’s probably my favourite FIFA World Cup ever. That year my family got a VHS recorder for the first time and we taped the games overnight so I could get up early and watch them on fast-forward before school. I fell in love with Diego Maradona that month. For me, Diego is still the greatest player ever to play the game (sorry Leo!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Like many, Dan fell in love with Diego Maradona at the 1986 FIFA World Cup<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Icons have been the exclusive memorabilia partner of the FIFA World Cup since the tournament in South Africa in 2010. This is now our fourth tournament and we love being the home of official FIFA World Cup signed memorabilia. Our company tagline is ‘Signed by the World’s Best’ and with just one quick browse of our new official collection I’m sure you can’t really argue with that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We love what we do so when the FIFA World Cup comes around we’re just as excited as the five-year-olds first falling in love with the competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These days we have Mario Kempes signed memorabilia on our website; we were the official memorabilia partner of the late great Diego Maradona (rest in peace, Diego, we miss you) and we’re the only place in the world to get authentic exclusive Leo Messi products, also working with sticker book GOATs Panini, helping them distribute their David Beckham memorabilia range. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Icons CEO Dan Jamieson (right) with FIFA World Cup legend Diego Maradona<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It just goes to show, when you follow your passion, anything can happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I want England to win this winter, of course, but I’m also realistic. Firstly, let’s hope football’s the winner. Then let’s just say\u00a0we’d love to see our friend Leo\u00a0bring it home. That would be special. So when I’m not cheering on the Three Lions it’ll be “Vamos, vamos Argentina!” as they sing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enjoy the next four weeks. Whatever happens it’s going to be iconic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My earliest memory in life is staying up late to watch the 1978 FIFA World Cup final. I was five-years-old. I can’t quite recall exactly what happened but I do remember a man in orange leaping like a salmon to smash home a header. Everyone else remembers Mario Kempes and the ticker tape; all I… <\/p>\n

Read More<\/i><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[465],"tags":[154,407,146,275,527,432,22,441,10,518],"class_list":["post-2802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-from-our-ceo","tag-cristiano-ronaldo","tag-diego-maradona","tag-england","tag-fifa-world-cup","tag-fifa-world-cup-2022-qatar","tag-from-our-ceo","tag-lionel-messi","tag-official-licences","tag-pele","tag-qatar"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pfQcey-Jc","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2206,"url":"https:\/\/www.icons.com\/news\/2020\/11\/26\/diego-maradona-a-tribute-to-an-icon\/","url_meta":{"origin":2802,"position":0},"title":"Diego Maradona: A Tribute To An Icon","author":"Icons.com","date":"November 26, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"On Wednesday evening, the world of sport lost an icon of near-unparalleled stature. The death of Diego Armando Maradona, at just 60-years-old, has shocked and deeply saddened all of us here at Icons.com. The tragic news brought into sharp focus the profound reverence millions of people had for Diego \u2013\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "From Our CEO"","block_context":{"text":"From Our CEO","link":"https:\/\/www.icons.com\/news\/category\/from-our-ceo\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/icons.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/RIP-Diego-Maradona-V1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/icons.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/RIP-Diego-Maradona-V1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/icons.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/RIP-Diego-Maradona-V1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/icons.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/RIP-Diego-Maradona-V1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/icons.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/RIP-Diego-Maradona-V1.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/icons.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/RIP-Diego-Maradona-V1.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":154,"url":"https:\/\/www.icons.com\/news\/2013\/12\/09\/introducing-icons-official-fifa-world-cup-range\/","url_meta":{"origin":2802,"position":1},"title":"Introducing Our Official FIFA World Cup\u2122 Range!","author":"Icons.com","date":"December 9, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The draw is done, the stage is set - the 2014 World Cup is now just around the corner, with a mere 184 days between now and kick off. 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