In general you find a few different types of collectors within the football programme world. There is the potential collector who has a passing interest in starting a programme collection, there is the latent collector who collects programmes infrequently, there is the casual collector who may accumulate old or new football programmes without having a specific theme to their collection, and also there is the confirmed collector who has precise aims and regularly tries to acquire programmes in order to enhance his or her collection.
There is no exact size to a collection, with the only limitations to it come in the form of your financial restraints. To be a collector, there is no need to own highly expensive programmes, just simply something that brings pleasure or a sense of satisfaction to the collector. Programme collectors come from all walks of life.
In the early stages of a collection, a collector may try to acquire everything they can find to their collection as soon as they can in order to give it some bulk. However, with this comes a loss of focus, and later when restraints may mean a particular theme will have to be chosen and explored in order to enhance a collection.
There truly are a limitless number of themes and sub-themes of programmes that can be collected. However, there are certain traditional ways to build a collection. For example, for example all those programmes concerned with a particular team, all those played in a specific competition, etc. Whilst collecting a person is likely to discover the highs and lows of acquiring a rare old football programme, or the frustration of not being able to find a source for one that is vital to your collection.
Those casual collectors will usually own a small number of special programmes for major finals or semi-finals for the team that they personally support, internationals, testimonials, special fixtures, or other big cup ties. These can basically be classed as a Big Match programme.
If you have a big affection for a particular football club your mission in programme collecting may be to simply acquire all issues for your favourite team. In addition to the normal league matches and cup-ties, you may also attempt to collect programmes from friendlies, foreign tours, reserve teams, and youth teams.
One way of improving the depth and scope of your collection is by choosing an earlier date from which to collect. You could, for example, decide to collect back to 1940, etc.
A collector who is neutral in his or her affiliations, and just has a general passion for football will tend to widen the scope of their collection. In these sorts of collections you often find football programmes from a number of clubs at different levels (including non-league). For the more adventurous collector, football programmes may have been acquired from countries other than his or her own.