FIBA Photo Contest 2026

The FIBA Photo Contest is an international basketball photography competition run by the FIBA Foundation, the charitable arm of basketball's world governing body. The 2026 edition, the tenth, is free to enter and open to professional and amateur photographers worldwide. Each of the three category winners receives photography equipment worth CHF 2,000, and the overall winner, named FIBA Shot of the Year, joins the FIBA Basketball World Cup Qatar 2027 for a five-day photographer experience. The deadline is 4 December 2026.

This year the contest introduces three categories, so it is no longer only for photographers with access to big arenas. Pictures from a school yard, a street court or a family archive can compete alongside professional game action.

Winning images are published on FIBA's social channels and in the annual FIBA Photo Book.

Who Can Enter the FIBA Photo Contest?

The competition is open to professional and amateur photographers anywhere in the world, and you can enter one or more categories.

It is particularly relevant to:

• Sports photographers and photojournalists
• Street and documentary photographers who shoot community courts
• Club, school and federation photographers
• Anyone with archive basketball images from before the 2000s

What Can You Enter?

• Elite Basketball: top-level leagues, major tournaments and international championships
• Community Basketball: grassroots play, Basketball For Good programmes, and games on streets, school courts and local playgrounds
• Vintage Basketball: archive images taken at any time up to the early 2000s

Entries are uploaded through the contest's Picter page, linked from the official site. Check the terms there for the number of images allowed per entrant.

Entry Fees

There is no fee to enter.

What Do Selected Entrants Receive?

• Each category winner: photography equipment worth CHF 2,000, a feature on FIBA's social media and a place in the FIBA Photo Book
• FIBA Shot of the Year: chosen from the three category winners, with a five-day photographer experience at the FIBA Basketball World Cup Qatar 2027

Submission Requirements

Prepare high-quality files, a short caption for each image (where and when it was taken, and who or what it shows) and confirmation that you hold the rights. For the Vintage category, add what you know about the photo's date and origin.

Why Enter?

Free sports photography competitions with real prizes are rare, and the Community category gives photographers without press access a genuine chance. A win also puts your work in front of FIBA's international audience and into a printed book, which helps when pitching to clubs, leagues and editors.

What Makes a Strong Basketball Photo?

The best basketball pictures rarely show only the ball going through the hoop. Juries look for emotion, timing and a sense of place: the bench reacting to a last-second shot, a child alone on an evening court, the dust and light of an outdoor game, a faded team photo that tells a club's history. Clean backgrounds, a clear subject and an honest moment matter more than an expensive lens. In the Community category especially, the story around the game often counts as much as the action itself.

Things to Consider

• Pick the right category. A strong street-court image will stand out more in Community than in Elite.
• Tell a story in one frame. Emotion and context often beat a technically perfect dunk.
• Caption carefully. Names, places and dates help the jury and are needed for publication.
• Check model and rights issues. Especially for children and archive images.
• Look in family archives. The Vintage category is a chance to give old photos a new audience.
• Enter early. The window is short, from the end of September to early December.

Enter the Competition

Interested in submitting your work?

Enter the FIBA Photo Contest

For the full terms, categories and submission page, visit the official FIBA Foundation website.

Looking for more open calls? Browse all competitions and opportunities on Good Stuff Weekly.

Last verified: October 16, 2026