Forget Pele or Maradona there is one unsellable card at Fora

Fora Sports Trading Company in Hannington's Street, Brighton, has almost every football single football card imaginable. The stock in the shop is made up of owner Kevin Hawthorne's collection.

Kevin, who lives in Preston Park, has been collecting football trading cards for 32 years and has amassed a collection that he said is "uncountable".

The size of the collection is constantly growing as new cards are made for tournaments, like the Euros.

Kevin's in-store collection, insured for £250,000, will see its value change alongside a market that relies on supply and demand.

Fora Sports Trading Company in Hannington's Street, Brighton

Some cards score a higher value because of the player pictured, whereas some have value due to their rarity.

Kevin's collection has some particular favourites. As a West Ham fan, cards of Paolo Di Canio are rarely sold, while a complete album of Panini stickers from the 1970 Mexico World Cup, has a value of £25,000.

He said: "I'm a bit boring, but the Mexico 1970 collection is my prized asset. It has Pele, Bobby Moore, Sir Geoff Hurst, Eusébio and Franz Beckenbauer, all the legends.

"It was the first international album that went outside of Italy, and there was only a handful of countries that it went to.

"The level of detail on flags, team emblems and the card design was brilliant."

Kevin's collection from the Mexico 1986 World Cup

There is one card in the sale boxes that does stand out. A card with footballer Joel Pohjanpalo on it, the midfielder plays for Finland and Union Berlin, but the card is one of a kind and one of Kevin's favourite characters in football.

He said: "The card is listed for £1 billion in the shop, there is a sizeable online discount, and it is for sale at £5.2 million.

"I know no one is going to pay that for the card, but that is the value it holds for me. I love the player, he is a bit of a character and quite funny, and the card is one of a kind. I just don't want to sell it.

"The value of these cards is to the seller, not the buyer, even though I will always be fair when selling the cards I am happy to sell.

Joel Pohjanpalo's card is on sale for £1billion

"The collection is insured, but in terms of sentimental value, I can't put a number on that. If somebody gave me millions for it, I'd probably just buy it back."

Collecting trading cards have evolved since the simple stickers that were created in the 1960s. Similar collections can be built online and in computer games, but the original stickers still bring a unique value to the hobby.

Kevin said: "People want something they can hold with their hands and that they can show off to people.

"The collections that people have online are great, but for me, it doesn't have the same magic around it."

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Fora's position in the online community increased during lockdown when Kevin started posting pictures of the trading cards on Instagram.

He said: "All I wanted was for people to see the collection. I started to take pictures and post them online, and then suddenly, we had thousands of people liking them and wanting to see more."

The shop has been open for the past seven weeks. The idea stemmed from the size of the collection and an increased following on social media.

The 39-year-old said: "The number of people who enjoy the hobby varies from new to old collectors coming back to the hobby who wanted me to open the shop.

Fora Sports Trading Company in Hannington's Street, Brighton

"The size of the collection along with our position in the community kind of inspired us to do it. If we hadn't opened the shop, someone else would have.

"There's an immense accumulation after collecting for 32 years. At the end of the day, I got into the hobby just as a collector and buying cards.

"I can't remember the first ones that I opened, but the ones that made me fall in love with the hobby was opening the card for Italia 90. The design was beautiful."