FIBA Photo Contest 2026 – The 10th Edition

The FIBA Photo Contest 2026 returns for its 10th edition with its biggest structural change to date. Photographers can now enter three dedicated categories covering elite competition, community basketball, and historical images from the sport’s past. Entries are open worldwide until December 4, 2026, and participation is free, placing this anniversary edition among the free photography competitions available to photographers interested in sport and basketball culture.

Three category winners will each receive CHF 2,000 in photography equipment, approximately $2,400, together with publication in the annual FIBA Photo Book and a feature through FIBA channels. From those three winners, the jury will select the FIBA Shot of the Year. Its photographer will also receive a five-day photographer experience at the FIBA Basketball World Cup Qatar 2027, with travel and accommodation included.

Participants may submit up to five single images across one or more categories. The expanded format makes room not only for contemporary sports photography, but also for grassroots stories and photographs drawn from historical archives.With free entry, three distinct approaches to basketball photography, and prizes ranging from equipment to a World Cup photography experience, the competition offers another option for photographers looking to participate in photography contests with an international scope.

Prizes

The FIBA Photo Contest 2026 – The 10th Edition replaces the former first, second, and third-prize structure with one winner in each of the three categories. All three receive the same package, while one of them is subsequently named FIBA Shot of the Year.

Category Winners (3 photographers:)

• CHF 2,000 worth of photography equipment, approximately $2,400
• Publication in the FIBA Photo Book 2026
• Feature through FIBA Foundation and FIBA social media channels
• Diploma

FIBA Shot of the Year:

• Selected from the three category-winning photographs
• A five-day FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 Photographer Experience
• Travel and accommodation included
• The benefits attached to the category-winning prize

Categories or Themes

For the first time in the FIBA Photo Contest’s history, entrants choose between three categories. Photographers may submit across one or more of them, with a maximum of five photographs in total.

Elite Basketball

This category focuses on basketball at its highest competitive level: elite leagues, major tournaments, international championships, decisive plays, players, coaches, teams, and supporters. One restriction is particularly important: photographs taken during FIBA Events, or created as part of a FIBA or FIBA Foundation designation or assignment, are not eligible.

Community Basketball

Here the emphasis moves away from major arenas to the places where the sport connects communities. Basketball For Good initiatives, schools, playgrounds, local courts, and games played in public spaces are all part of the brief. The category naturally intersects with street photography, people photography, and socially oriented visual storytelling.

Vintage Basketball

The third category opens the competition to historical photography. Images may have been taken at any point in the past through the early 2000s and can document courts, streets, clubs, schools, tournaments, or community gatherings. The focus is on the atmosphere, people, style, and cultural heritage of basketball across different generations, giving archival and documentary photography a specific place within the competition.

Dates and Entry Fees

The FIBA Photo Contest 2026 runs through the final months of 2026, with results scheduled shortly after submissions close.

Entry fees: Free.

There is no charge to submit, so the competition also remains relevant for photographers searching for free photo contests online.

How to Enter

Entries are submitted electronically through the contest’s Picter platform. Each photographer may upload a maximum of five single photographs and may enter one or more categories.

Files must be JPEG/JPG with a minimum size of 1500px. Entrants must provide their name, date of birth, nationality and biography, together with the photograph’s title, year, location and description. Text or logos may not be placed over the image.

Participants under 18 need prior approval from a parent or legal guardian and must include the required approval document with their registration.

About the Jury

The FIBA Photo Contest 2026 jury combines photographers with figures working across professional basketball, media, business, design, and basketball culture.

• Kevin Bahun-Wilson, PhD, co-founder and CEO of AfroBallers, works at the intersection of digital media, sport, and African and diaspora basketball.
• Miguel Batista, CFO of JDS Sports, brings experience in sports investment, media, community projects, and his work with SLAM.
• Kévin Couliau is a French photographer and filmmaker whose long-term work examines basketball’s social and cultural landscape through documentary photography, film, and publishing.
• Petra Leary is an Auckland-based photographer known internationally for graphic and minimalist aerial imagery, connecting the panel with the visual language often seen in aerial photography contests.
• Chi Loyzaga-Gibbs is a Filipino artist, designer, content creator, and entrepreneur whose work connects basketball heritage with design and fashion.
• Miles Myerscough-Harris, also known as Expired Film Club, specializes in photographing sport with classic analogue cameras and has worked with major teams, events, and basketball brands.
• Milad Payami, FIBA Global Lead Photographer, has extensive experience documenting international sport and professional photojournalism.
• Cecilia Zandalasini is a professional basketball player with a personal interest in photography, particularly film photography.
• Giulia Zecchini is a basketball host and former player whose work spans FIBA competitions, grassroots basketball, social media, and sports content.

Why Enter FIBA Photo Contest 2026?

One of the strongest points of the FIBA Photo Contest 2026 is that it gives very different kinds of basketball photography a realistic place to compete. A courtside image from a professional league, a photograph made on a neighborhood court, and a frame preserved in a family or historical archive no longer have to fit the same brief. Elite, Community, and Vintage Basketball create three distinct routes into the competition, giving it a broader photographic and cultural scope than a conventional sports photography contest.

Each category winner receives the same CHF 2,000 equipment prize and publication in the FIBA Photo Book, while one of those three photographers is selected for a five-day experience at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027, with travel and accommodation included. That final opportunity offers something comparatively difficult to access independently: the chance to photograph within the environment of a major international basketball event.

Free entry and the possibility of submitting up to five photographs keep the initial barrier low relative to those potential outcomes. For photographers comparing the best photo challenges online, the combination of a specialized subject, several routes to recognition, and a real-world photography experience is what gives this contest its clearest appeal. The broad image-use conditions are an important counterpoint, however, and should be considered before entering.

Rules and Copyright

We reviewed the official rules of the FIBA Photo Contest 2026 to summarize the key participation requirements, copyright terms and image usage conditions. Before entering, we recommend checking the complete rules published by the organizer.

Rules

Eligibility: The contest is open regardless of age, nationality, or country of residence. Minors require prior parental or legal guardian approval.

Number of entries: Up to five photographs may be submitted across one or more categories.

FIBA event restriction: Photographs taken during FIBA Events, or produced as part of a FIBA or FIBA Foundation designation or assignment, are not considered eligible.

Original work: Except under the specific conditions applicable to Vintage Basketball, photographs must have been taken by the participant and be their own original creation.

Vintage photographs: A photograph taken by somebody else may be entered only where the participant has the necessary legal authority. This can include being the copyright owner, lawful heir or successor, owner through a valid copyright transfer, or having express written authorization from the current copyright owner. Simply possessing a print, negative, slide, album, or digital file is not sufficient.

AI and editing: Drawings, illustrations, computer-made or computer-assisted pictures are prohibited. Images generated or altered using artificial intelligence are also ineligible. Permitted adjustments are limited to parameters including saturation, contrast, sharpness, color temperature, white and color balance, and noise reduction.

Content: Images must relate to the entered category. Promotional or commercial content and inappropriate material are not accepted.

Copyright and Image Usage

The published conditions do not clearly state that entrants transfer ownership of copyright itself. They do, however, state that by participating, entrants irrevocably grant FIBA Foundation/FIBA perpetual rights over their submitted photographs.

Those terms authorize FIBA Foundation/FIBA to use, exploit, reproduce, or transfer the photographs freely without further notification, authorization, or compensation. The rules expressly mention commercial and promotional uses. Entrants also agree that their photographs may be exhibited at the House of Basketball, FIBA’s world headquarters.

Participants remain responsible for obtaining the rights, permissions, licenses, and personal authorizations required for the images they enter, including privacy and image rights where people are depicted.

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For more information and to participate in the contest, visit: the official website.