The photo of Šime Vrsaljko selected among best in the world (Drago Sopta/HNS)





Drago Sopta, the Croatian football federation’s official photographer, is up for a prestigious award from the International Sports Press Association (AIPS).

AIPS selected a shortlist of the best five sports photographs in the world this year from a total of 1273 submissions from 119 nations around the globe for the photo of the year award. Sopta’s photo of Šime Vrsaljko lying on the Croatian flag after Croatia’s World Cup semi-final win over England made the top five.

The photo went viral at the time and was a huge hit on social media. There were even replica cakes and tattoos made of the photo.

(Photo: Drago Sopta/HNS)

Sopta’s photo is one of five which will battle for the award of the best sports photo of the year. The winner will be announced on 21 January 2019 at the awards ceremony in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Founded in 1924 in Paris, AIPS is the peak professional body representing the international sports media, with more than 9,000 members worldwide, from leading international daily newspapers, websites, periodicals and radio and television channels across five continents.

The AIPS Sport Media Awards are the highest international accolade in the sport media industry.

