Football-Themed International Competition Attracted 1,164 Cartoons from 41 Countries
The winners of the 6th International Cartoon Contest, organized by Denizli Metropolitan Municipality, have officially been announced. One of the most significant international cartoon competitions of the year, the contest was held under the theme “Football”, bringing together cartoonists from around the world through humor and art.
A total of 1,164 cartoons created by 450 cartoonists from 41 countries were submitted to the competition, reflecting football’s universal appeal and its ability to unite people across cultures.
Following the submission deadline on 7 June 2026, the international jury convened on 13 June 2026 to evaluate the entries. The jury was chaired by acclaimed Turkish cartoonist Mehmet Selçuk and included distinguished artists Gürbüz Doğan Ekşioğlu, Şevket Yalaz, Savaş Ünlü, Ali Şur, Altan Özeskici, Aşkın Ayrancıoğlu, Abdülkadir Uslu, Özgür Başkurt, and Arif Duru.
Main Awards
🥇 First Prize: Zeki Ozan Soyman (Turkey)
🥈 Second Prize: Saeed Sadeghi Naghdali (Iran)
🥉 Third Prize: Sajad Rafeei (Iran)
Honorable Mentions
- Ali Rastroo (Iran)
- Önder Önerbay (Turkey)
- Michel Moro Gómez (Cuba)
Special Prize
🏅 Gürbüz Doğan Ekşioğlu Special Prize: Agim Sulaj (Italy)
Under 18 Category
🎖️ Emir Albayrak (Turkey)
🎖️ Meryem Küçükçeşme (Turkey)
The Award Ceremony and Exhibition Opening will take place on 26 June 2026 at 18:00 at the Turan Bahadır Exhibition Hall in Denizli.
The exhibition will feature a remarkable selection of cartoons celebrating football’s spirit of fair play, passion, competition, friendship, and unity, demonstrating once again how caricature serves as a universal language that transcends borders.
With hundreds of participants from dozens of countries, the Denizli International Cartoon Contest continues to strengthen its position as one of Turkey’s leading international cartoon events and an important meeting point for cartoonists worldwide
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