--- title: "Football Player Headshots: A Guide for Publishers, and Sports Apps" description: What are football player headshots? How publishers, sports apps and fantasy games use player cutouts; what makes a good headshot; and how licensing works. image: https://blog.imago-images.com/hubfs/FOOTBALL%20HEADSHOTS.jpg --- [![IMAGO Logo](https://blog.imago-images.com/hubfs/Marketing/02_branding/imago-logo.svg)](https://www.imago-images.com) - [Editorial](https://www.imago-images.com/editorial) - [Creative](https://www.imago-images.com/creative) - [Sports](https://www.imago-images.com/sport) - [Collections](https://www.imago-images.com/collections) - [Videos](https://www.imago-images.com/video) - Enterprise - [Enterprise Home](https://connect.imago-images.com/en/) - [Global Sports](https://connect.imago-images.com/en/licensed-sports-images-for-creators-publishers-and-communities) - [Football](https://connect.imago-images.com/en/license-football-images) - [Player Headshots](https://connect.imago-images.com/en/license-football-player-headshots) - [Entertainment](https://connect.imago-images.com/en/licensed-entertainment-images-for-publishers-and-social-media-teams) - [Media Production](https://connect.imago-images.com/en/high-resolution-images-editorial-stock-footage-for-documentary-and-film-production) - [AI Training Data](https://connect.imago-images.com/en/train-ai-models-with-licensed-multimodal-content-from-imago) - [Prices](https://www.imago-images.com/pricing) Account - [Editorial](https://www.imago-images.com/editorial) - [Creative](https://www.imago-images.com/creative) - [Sports](https://www.imago-images.com/sport) - [Collections](https://www.imago-images.com/collections) - [Videos](https://www.imago-images.com/video) - [Enterprise](https://connect.imago-images.com/en/) ![](https://blog.imago-images.com/hubfs/FOOTBALL%20HEADSHOTS.jpg) [to all articles](https://blog.imago-images.com/en) # Football Player Headshots: A Guide for Publishers, and Sports Apps By [IMAGO](https://blog.imago-images.com/en/author/imago) Last update: November 12, 2026 Football Player Headshots: A Guide for Publishers, and Sports Apps 6:15 A football player headshot is a portrait used to identify a player in a sports product or publication. Headshots are often framed consistently across a squad and supplied as cutouts with transparent backgrounds. Publishers, sports apps and fantasy platforms use them in player profiles, line-ups and match graphics. In the US, they are often called soccer player headshots. Similar headshots are also used in other sports, including tennis, Formula 1 and handball. [![Football player headshots as transparent cutouts in a fantasy app team line-up, IMAGO headshot package](https://blog.imago-images.com/hs-fs/hubfs/football-players-headshots-live-score-imago.webp.png?width=3072&height=2049&name=football-players-headshots-live-score-imago.webp.png)](https://connect.imago-images.com/en/license-football-player-headshots?hsLang=en) Images on this design are for illustrative purposes only. Football player headshots at a glance - Europe’s top five football leagues feature 96 clubs whose squads change from season to season. - Squads typically change in two windows every season - during the summer and January transfer windows. - Headshots are often supplied as cutouts with transparent backgrounds, commonly in PNG format. - Permitted uses depend on the licence. Promotional use may require additional rights clearance. ## What is a player headshot in sports? Outside of sports, a headshot typically refers to a corporate or studio portrait. In sports media, a player headshot is a front-facing portrait reflecting a player's current-season look. Every player in a squad is framed and cut out the same way, so the images work together as one set. This consistency separates a dedicated headshot package from generic match action photos. ## Where sports apps and publishers use player headshots - Sports and live score apps: Player bio pages, squad listings, substitution graphics, goal alerts and disciplinary cards. - Fantasy football and gaming platforms: Digital player cards, team selection interfaces, transfer market screens and leaderboard displays. - Publishers and sports media: Starting XI line-up graphics, match previews, transfer deadline day reports and player rating tables. - Broadcast and streaming graphics: Starting line-up overlays and on-screen player stats. - Sports data providers and APIs: Structured player databases supplying profile imagery to third-party sports platforms. Across all these use cases, users view multiple players side by side. If one headshot has mismatched lighting or an unedited background, it degrades the quality of the entire interface. [![IMAGO photographers photographing football players on the pitch](https://blog.imago-images.com/hs-fs/hubfs/imago-photographers-football-players-pitch.jpg?width=760&height=507&name=imago-photographers-football-players-pitch.jpg)](https://www.imago-images.com/en/sp/1003992943)IMAGO / Dennis Hetzschold | IMAGO photographers capturing football player portraits during a German Media Day session. ## What makes a high-quality player headshot? - Consistent framing: Uniform eye-level angle and front-facing crop across all club squads. - Current-season look: Up-to-date player appearances reflecting active club rosters. - Transparent background: Clean cutouts that work on any brand color or dark background. - Squad coverage: as many players as possible, not only the stars. - High resolution: sharp on mobile and web. - Clear file names: images named by club and player, so they're easy to match to your player data.   *"For publishers and sports apps, it’s not just about having a great image of the biggest names. It’s about giving users a consistent experience across every player profile, line-up and match graphic. That’s why we curate player headshots as ready-to-use cutouts, helping teams spend less time sourcing and editing images." [Matthew Debono](https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-debono/), Global Sports & Corporate Partnerships Manager at IMAGO*   ## Why football headshots need updating every season The Premier League, LaLiga and Serie A feature 20 clubs each, while the Bundesliga and Ligue 1 feature 18 clubs each, representing 96 top-tier European clubs. Every season brings promotions and relegations, and every transfer window brings new signings and loans. Because rosters change constantly, professional sports platforms refresh their player image collections every season to keep their applications accurate. ## How professional headshot packages are curated - Image sourcing: Player images are selected from current sports coverage and partner agencies. - Picture desk selection: Editorial photo desks curate and verify one standardized, front-facing portrait per rostered player. - Cutout creation: The background is removed to create a transparent cutout. - File naming: Files are named by club and player and sorted by league and club. - Delivery: Packages are delivered via FTP. ## How licensing works for football player headshots Player headshots are protected under copyright law. To use them in an app, on a website or in editorial content, you need a license from the photographer or photo agency. Standard headshot licensing typically covers editorial and player-profile use across owned digital channels. Standalone commercial advertising, sponsorship campaigns or product endorsements require separate licensing agreements. It is important to distinguish image copyright from player personality rights and club trademarks. A copyright license covers the usage rights to the photograph itself. Additional commercial rights, including player image rights and club crest trademarks, remain subject to the respective rights holders. ## Building custom player headshots vs. licensing pre-packaged collections | | **In-house production** | **Licensing a package** | | --- | --- | --- | | Effort | Sourcing, checking rights and cutting out every player yourself | Selected, cut out and delivered ready to use | | Consistency | Hard to keep uniform across different sources | Same framing and cutout style across the league | | Coverage | Limited to the photos you can find | Squads from the top leagues, plus custom packages | | New season | Repeat the whole process | A new package for the new season | For most sports apps, fantasy games and publishers, licensing a package saves time. IMAGO is a Berlin-based photo agency with one of the world's largest sports image libraries. It adds more than 250,000 new sports images every week, and its picture desk selects the headshots from this coverage. IMAGO's football player headshot packages cover the Premier League, LaLiga, Bundesliga, Serie A and Ligue 1 as football player cutouts on transparent backgrounds. Packages for other leagues and sports are available on request. IMAGO also offers Media Days images from the Bundesliga, 2. Bundesliga, 3. Liga and Frauen-Bundesliga. --- Can I ask you a question? ### What is a football player headshot? A football player headshot is a standardized front-facing portrait of a footballer, used across player profile pages, tactical line-up graphics and sports mobile apps. ### What is the difference between a player headshot and a cutout? A headshot refers to the composition and framing of the player. A cutout refers to the image format where the background has been completely removed (usually saved as a transparent PNG), allowing the player to be placed on any UI background or graphic template. ### Where do player headshots come from? Most come from sports photographers and photo agencies that cover the league. A picture desk then selects one consistent portrait per player and cuts it out. ### Where can I license football player headshot packages? From sports photo agencies, from leagues and clubs through their media departments, or from sports data providers that bundle images with player data. IMAGO, for example, offers ready-to-use packages for the top 5 European leagues. ### Can sports platforms use player headshots for commercial advertising? Standard editorial headshot licenses cover product UI, digital media and player profile features. Commercial advertising or paid endorsement campaigns require separate agreements. ### Are player headshots available for other leagues and sports outside the top 5 European leagues? Yes. In addition to core European football leagues by IMAGO, custom headshot packages can be curated on request for domestic leagues worldwide, women's football and other professional sports.     [![Get football player headshot packages](https://blog.imago-images.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Get%20football%20player%20headshots.jpg?width=1584&height=400&name=Get%20football%20player%20headshots.jpg)](https://connect.imago-images.com/en/license-football-player-headshots?hsLang=en)   Tags: [Industry Tips](https://blog.imago-images.com/en/tag/industry-tips) [to all articles](https://blog.imago-images.com/en) ## Weitere Artikel ## [EURO 2024 Spotlight: Top 8 Players to Watch](https://blog.imago-images.com/en/top-euro-2024-players?hsLang=en) As EURO 2024 is getting closer the excitement for this major event is intensifying. 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