The World Sports Photography Awards, sponsored by Canon, has opened entries for its 2027 edition. It is free to enter, open worldwide, and the deadline is 23 November 2026. Full details are on the World Sports Photography Awards site.
What is on offer
The awards run across 24 sports categories, and photographers can submit up to 10 images taken between December 2025 and November 2026. Judging is handled by a panel drawn from sport, media, photography, branding and the wider creative industry, and the whole thing is free to enter — which, for a competition of this standing, is worth stating plainly.
The 2026 edition drew entries from 123 countries spanning more than 60 sports, so this is a genuinely global platform rather than a national one.
The part worth flagging to younger photographers
The Canon Emerging Talent award returns for 2027, and the eligibility has changed: it is now open to photographers under 25, dropped slightly from the previous edition.
That is a meaningful detail if you teach, mentor or are early in your own career. Sports photography is one of the harder fields to break into — access is everything, and access tends to follow reputation — so a dedicated category on a stage this size is a real opportunity for a young photographer to be seen. We would encourage anyone eligible to enter rather than assume the competition is only for established names.
Our take
Free entry, a global audience and a genuine emerging-talent route make this an easy one to recommend, whatever your level. The only caveat is the obvious one: with 24 categories and a worldwide field, standing out takes a genuinely strong image rather than a merely good one. The archive of past winners is worth studying before you submit, if only to calibrate what wins.
For anyone who shoots sport — professionally, at a local club, or simply on the sidelines of a child’s match — an entry costs nothing but the time to choose your best frames.
World Sports Photography Awards 2027: key details
Sponsor: Canon. Entries open: 9 September 2026. Submission deadline: 23 November 2026. Eligibility: up to 10 images taken between December 2025 and November 2026. Categories: 24 sports categories, plus the Canon Emerging Talent award for photographers under 25. Cost: free to enter. Judging: a panel spanning sport, media, photography, branding and the creative sector.
How to enter
Entries are submitted through the World Sports Photography Awards website, where the full category list and rules are available.
