Summary
- The 10th FIBA Photo Contest introduces three photography categories.
- Entry is free, with up to five images permitted per person and a deadline of 4 December 2026.
- Each category winner receives CHF 2,000 worth of photographic equipment.
- The overall winner earns a photographer experience at the 2027 Basketball World Cup, while the contest rules grant FIBA broad image usage rights.
Event Details
Photographers around the world have until 4 December 2026 to tell basketball stories through their images in FIBA’s free photography competition, with CHF 2,000 worth of photographic equipment awarded in each category.
The FIBA Photo Contest 2026 marks its tenth edition with a new format. For the first time, it features three categories, spanning elite competition, local communities and photographic archives. The overall winner will also receive a five-day photography experience at the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Qatar.
Three ways to photograph basketball
Elite Basketball: The intensity of leading leagues, international championships and top-level competition. A decisive moment, a player’s expression or the atmosphere in the arena can all become compelling photographs.
Community Basketball: Basketball in neighbourhoods, schools, playgrounds, local courts and social programmes. FIBA is looking for pictures about connection, inclusion and everyday life around the sport.
Vintage Basketball: Historical pictures, dating up to the early 2000s, covering teams, local courts, tournaments and generations of people playing together. An image taken by someone else may only be submitted if the entrant holds the necessary copyright or written permission.
What the winners receive
The jury will name one winner in each of the three categories. Each will receive approximately CHF 2,000 in photographic equipment, exposure on FIBA channels, publication in the annual FIBA Photo Book 2026 and a diploma.
One of those three winning images will be selected as the FIBA Shot of the Year. Its photographer will additionally receive a five-day photographer experience at the FIBA Basketball World Cup Qatar 2027, including travel and accommodation. Results are expected in December 2026.
Free entry, deadline and technical requirements
Entry is open regardless of age, nationality or country of residence, including to photographers in Greece. Entrants under 18 require prior consent from a parent or legal guardian. Each participant can submit up to five photographs in total, across one or more categories.
- Deadline: 4 December 2026 at 23:59 (UTC+1), as specified in the official rules.
- File: JPEG/JPG, with a minimum dimension of 1,500 pixels.
- Information: name, date of birth, nationality and biography, plus image title, year, location and description.
- Editing: only the expressly permitted basic adjustments to saturation, contrast, sharpness, colour temperature and white/colour balance, along with noise reduction. AI-generated or AI-altered images are not eligible.
Important exclusion: Photographs taken at official FIBA events, or produced under an assignment from FIBA or the FIBA Foundation, are not eligible. Text, logos or watermarks must not be added to the image.
Entries must be uploaded electronically via the official Picter submission page. Further restrictions are detailed in the contest terms and conditions.
Read the image rights clause carefully
The terms contain a clause worth checking before submitting: participants irrevocably grant FIBA and the FIBA Foundation perpetual rights to use, reproduce, exploit or transfer submitted images without further notice, authorisation or compensation. Commercial and promotional uses are expressly covered.
Photographers must also guarantee that they hold the necessary rights and permissions, including those relating to people depicted. For vintage images, merely owning an old print or negative does not in itself establish copyright ownership.
For photographers seeking other opportunities in sports, the World Sports Photography Awards 2027 offer a separate international competition covering a wider range of sports, with their own entry rules.
What we think
The most interesting entry may not be a shot from a packed arena. Community Basketball opens the door to stories right on our doorstep: a makeshift court, children playing together, a school training session. A photographer with a sharp eye can often achieve more with those everyday moments than with a technically perfect but anonymous action shot.
Vintage Basketball is another welcome addition. It gives old images with genuine social and historical value a chance to be seen again. Provenance and the chain of copyright ownership do need careful attention, though.
There is also the rights issue. These are unusually broad terms for a free competition. Before entering a photograph that you may want to license professionally later, consider whether the exposure and potential prize are worth that trade-off.
Frequently asked questions
Can photographers based in Greece enter?
Yes. The contest is open worldwide, and entering is free.
Can I submit a photograph taken at a FIBA event?
No. The rules exclude photographs taken during official FIBA events, even if the image would otherwise suit the Elite Basketball category.
Can I enter a vintage photograph taken by somebody else?
Only in Vintage Basketball, and only if you own the necessary copyright or have express written authorisation from the current rights holder.
