After an astounding 600+ submissions, two rounds of judge selections, and nearly 2000 votes cast in the open community vote, we are happy to finally unveil the winners of the 2024 North American Soccer Photo Contest. Once again, we would like to thank everyone for participating and sharing their incredible work from 2024. It was an amazing year for submissions, reflected in both the close margins of the community vote and the judge selections.

Finally, we would like to congratulate all of this year’s winners for their exceptional photos, and their outstanding ability to capture the beauty of our sport in North America.

These are your 2024 winners:

Mike Fiechtner | CELEBRATIONS category winner (41% of the vote)

Mike’s photo is the winner of our Celebrations Category after earning 41% of the community vote across five category finalists. The prompt asked photographers to show photos “capturing the excitement after a goal, winning a match, or a championship — soccer’s most prized moments.”

Caption: “Kalani Kossa-Rienzi of the Seattle Sounders FC celebrates a late game-winning goal against Phoenix Rising FC during the US Open Cup on 5/22/24.”

RYAN YOUNG | GROWING THE GAME CATEGORY Winner (30.5% of THE vote)

Ryan’s photo is the winner of our Growing the Game Category after earning 30.5% of the community vote across five category finalists. The prompt asked photographers to show their “creative representation of growing the beautiful game in North America.”

Caption: “For Hispanic Heritage Month, I connected Maria Sanchez and Melanie Barcenas with a teenage Escaramuza team in San Diego's south county. None of the teenagers played soccer or had really followed women's soccer until meeting Maria and Melanie. That moment made them supporters.”

DANIEL BARTEL | OVERALL Community Winner (31.1 % of THE vote), MATCH ACTION category winner (39.3% of THE vote)

Aside from being the Overall Community Winner, Daniel’s photo also won our Match Action Category. He earned 31.1% of the vote across 20 finalists in the Overall Community Prize Category, and 39.3% of the vote across five category finalists in the Match Action Category. The prompt asked photographers to show “Goals, reactions, saves, etc. – anything on the field during the full 90. No celebrations.”

Caption: “Chicago, IL - April 20, 2024: Chicago Fire forward Georgios Koutsias scores a goal against Real Salt Lake at Soldier Field. The goal will be called back for offsides.”

BENJAMIN JOHNSON | GRAND PRIZE WINNER (JUDGE-PICKED) & Soccer fandom category winner (28.2% of THE vote)

After careful consideration from this year’s group of judges, Benjamin’s photo is the winner of the 2024 Grand Prize. His photo was selected from the 20 overall finalists and crowned for its creativity, quality, originality, responsiveness to the prompt, and overall impact.

In addition, he takes home the crown in the Soccer Fandom Category with 28.2% of the community vote. The prompt asked photographers to show, “The people. Photographs capturing the essence of soccer fandom in North America.”

Caption: “This post-match photo was captured after Alex Morgan's final game in Louisville, Kentucky. I have never seen fans so eager to catch a glimpse of or secure an autograph from an away player, highlighting the impact Alex has had on the game.”

Congratulations to all the winners, and a huge shout-out to everyone from the community who voted! Lastly, we’d also like to extend a special thank you to this year’s group of judges for all their help through this process:

Craig Mitchelldyer - Sr. Director of Photography and Creative Operations @ Portland Timbers
Jenny Chuang - Photographer @ National Women’s Soccer League
Joe Martinez - Senior Club Photographer @ St. Louis CITY SC
Nicolas Polo - Photographer & Darkroom Printer / Director of Strategy and Growth @ Football Case Study
Howard Lao - Freelance Photographer in the Pacific Northwest
Eric Miller - MLS Player @ Portland Timbers

Finally, we’d like to thank B&H Photo for kindly supplying this year’s prizes. Their commitment to rewarding the soccer photo community meant the world to us!