Meet the couple making their own Euro 2020 sticker album for charity

The self-proclaimed “artistically challenged duo” Alex and Sian Pratchett have tickled the ribs of the Twittersphere with their cartoon depictions of Euro 2020’s footballing stars.

Going by the name Cheap Panini, a play on the sticker book makers who have made collections a feature of international tournaments for decades, the pair are currently kicking out around 22 nightmarish drawings a day, with all profits raised going to mental health charity Mind.  

“After this year when people’s mental health has been more strained than ever before, we’re just happy to add a teeny tiny bit of help to the great work Mind do,” Alex told The Big Issue.  

So far Sian and Alex, who live in Oxford but are originally from Wales, have raised over £3,000 for the charity with hopes of reaching the £5,000 mark come the end of the Euro 2020 tournament.

“We won’t be disappointed if we don’t reach the target, I think for two people drawing 680 stupid pictures, it’s already not been a bad return,” he said.

Got a 6 hour+ car journey tomorrow and facing the very real possibility of having to draw footballers while sat in the passenger seat pic.twitter.com/reCiBhuN7f

— No Score Draws ✍️ (Alex & Sian – BOOK OUT NOW!) (@CheapPanini) June 30, 2021

They decided to create their own Panini album during the 2014 World Cup as a way of fulfilling Alex’s boyhood dream to finally complete a football sticker book collection, while avoiding the associated costs of the official Panini book.

Since its inception, Cheap Panini has amassed over 45,000 followers on Twitter and they reckon they have penned around 10,000 slightly wonky footballing faces.   

Over the years the couple have raised over £20,000 for charities including Cancer Research and Stonewall, with clubs such as West Brom and Notts County getting involved along the way. 

🚨HELP

Euro 2020 starts today, and we'll be spending the tournament drawing all 678 #Euro2020 Panini stickers, to raise money for @MindCharity

That's 678 stickers in 31 days, by 2 people who are quite bad at drawing✍️

So we need:

1) DONATIONS
&
2) RTshttps://t.co/UgWl8lURfa pic.twitter.com/vdufEwZ9IO

— No Score Draws ✍️ (Alex & Sian – BOOK OUT NOW!) (@CheapPanini) June 11, 2021

Needless to say, there’s a lot of hard work and dedication that goes into the creation.

“We’re off to a wedding over the next few days, and even then we’re going to have to find some time to find a quiet part of the venue to knock out some really terrible drawings”, Alex added.  

“It’s never good but at least it kind of looks like the person it’s meant to look like. If we were any good, I don’t think anyone would really care. 

 “There’s lots of really talented football illustrators out there and good luck to all of them but that’s not really what we’re about,” he said.

Fine pic.twitter.com/d0Ys2gw6KJ

— No Score Draws ✍️ (Alex & Sian – BOOK OUT NOW!) (@CheapPanini) June 30, 2021

The duo are often hit with multiple requests online after unfortunate facial moments are caught during the games, one recently being Harry Maguire.

“Apologies to Harry Maguire, if he ever sees it. We mean no disrespect, we just don’t know how to draw anyone that doesn’t look a bit scary,” he added.  

With the World Cup on the horizon, it looks as though the laughs will keep on coming as the duo have no intention of finishing at the Euros’ final whistle.

“We’ve seen throughout the pandemic that football never stops, so it looks like there will always be someone to draw,” Alex added.

To give yourself a chuckle and donate to their fundraising effort, check-out @CheapPanini.