How has 2024 looked through the eyes of a professional, award-winning photographer? Explore this photo essay by IMAGO photographer Domenic Aquilina, featuring his best shots of the year and the stories behind them.
A Photo Essay by Domenic Aquilina: My Best For 2024
By Domenic Aquilina
As a senior freelance sports photojournalist for over forty years, my duties and responsibilities have always been, and still are, to deliver the best visual photographic images to the reader on the other side of the coin. Doing this during 2024 was no exception, and with this brief introduction, I present my best captures, which I would like you to explore and enjoy!
As many of you know, I mostly cover football matches at all levels, both on the island and abroad. However, this does not mean that priority is only attributed to football but to other sports disciplines as well. In fact, I must mention that probably one of the most intriguing and interesting captures this year has been that of twin sisters Carrie and Megan Randle from the Blackball Federation of Ireland national ladies’ doubles team gesturing in their thoughts during a ladies’ doubles event at the inaugural IBF World Blackball Championships Malta 2024, held in Qawra on November 7, 2024.
It still stands out in my mind because my initial intentions were to capture the body movement of the two twin sisters in perfect synchronization as twin sisters!
I always do my best to add something intriguing and creative when I have the chance in my captures. Always on the lookout for unusual imagery, I try to give the audience something really interesting and unexpected. As I often say, it is all about “depicting what others cannot see.”
January: A Quiet Start with a Majestic View
January is normally not a busy period, but with the usual Malta Cup tournament around, I covered all participating teams, including FC Spartak Trnava. My standout capture was of their players training at the Training Grounds in Ta’ Qali, with the old city of Mdina in the background, on January 8, 2024, ahead of the tournament.
February: Joy in the Air: Celebrating Women’s Football
February brought along with it the 2024 Women’s International Friendlies tournament. My highlight was a capture of Malta’s Alishia Sultana (top) celebrating with Haley Bugeja (bottom) after scoring the opening goal during the match against Faroe Islands at the Tony Bezzina Stadium, Paola, Malta on February 22, 2024.
March: Heads Up! The Premier League in Action
March was busy with the usual local Premier League fixtures. I love this agitated heading duel featuring Valletta’s Juan Ramires Bolanos (center) and Hamrun Spartans’ Elionay Freitas da Silva (right) during the Premier League match at the National Stadium, Ta’ Qali, on March 2, 2024.
April: Between Matches and Nature’s Surprises
During April, I covered the annual UEFA Youth Development tournament, held at the Training Grounds. Between “back-to-back” matches, I had a very interesting scenario of two male birds tussling with each other. Loving nature but not a bird enthusiast, I initially thought this might have been a loving affair, but later, I got to know from a bird enthusiast, which resulted in a tussle of strength between two males.
May: Diving into Trophy Drama
May’s highlight was the FA Trophy final between Floriana and Sliema Wanderers at the National Stadium on May 12, 2024. My favorite capture shows Sliema goalkeeper Rashed Al-Tumi diving to his right to save a penalty by Mattias Veselji (Floriana, not pictured) during the shootout.
June: A Night to Remember at Wembley
My 17th UEFA Champions League final took place in London between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid. A very contested final between the two teams until Real scored. I captured Karim Adeyemi (back) of Borussia Dortmund, opposed by Dani Carvajal (front) of Real Madrid, during the eventual final at Wembley Stadium in London, England on June 1, 2024.
July: Summer Heat, Intense Battles
With the UEFA club competitions underway, I covered the UEFA Europa Conference League, First Qualifying Round, 2nd Leg match between Marsaxlokk and Partizani at the Centenary Stadium in Malta on July 18, 2024. I chose this intense action image of Partizani’s Sembene Saliou (left) coming in hard with his challenge on Yuri Messias (right) of Marsaxlokk.
August: Harry Kane’s Emotional Homecoming
During August, I was invited to cover the match between Tottenham Hotspur and Bayern Munich at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, on August 10, 2024. The photo captures Harry Kane of Bayern Munich applauding the crowd after the match—a symbolic moment after the England captain returned to his homegrown stadium, having joined German giants Bayern Munich the previous season.
September: A Tale of Two Captures
Back to the local scene with the launch of a new format Premier League in Malta. This time, I was divided between two images, so I chose to include both.
The first captures Franklin Sasere (top left) of Floriana vieing for the ball with Gzira United’s Gabriel Bohrer Mentz (top right) during their match at the National Stadium, Ta’ Qali, on September 27, 2024.
The second shows Alessandro Coppola (back) of Birkirkara in what should be a heated discussion with Alex Bruno de Souza Silva (front) of Hibernians during the match between Hibernians and Birkirkara at the National Stadium, Ta’ Qali, on September 14, 2024.
October: Racing the Winds of the Middle Sea
October brought the annual Middle Sea Race. This time round, with the wind playing around quite nicely, I managed to capture the Hong Kong racing yacht Scallywag moving through the high waters after exiting the Malta Grand Harbour soon after the race’s start on October 19, 2024.
November: Twin Focus at the Blackball Championships
November featured the inaugural IBF World Blackball Championships, held in Malta from November 2 to 10, 2024. The photo depiction of twin sisters Carrie and Megan Randle from the Blackball Federation of Ireland national ladies’ doubles team gesturing in their match thoughts during a doubles ladies’ event on November 7, 2024, remains a firm favorite of mine.
December: Ending the Year with Super Cup Fireworks
Back again to women’s football and the Super Cup between Swieqi United and treble winners Birkirkara. This agitated action captured Swieqi United’s Emma Xuereb (bottom) challenging Birkirkara’s Vitoria Luan Cabral Lourenco (center) and Andreina Rafanny Mendoza Abache (top) during a heated match at the Centenary Stadium, Malta, on December 8, 2024.
Photos © Domenic Aquilina/IMAGO
About the Author
Domenic Aquilina is a seasoned sports photographer and educator with over four decades of experience. A self-taught professional, he has served as UEFA Senior Country Correspondent for Malta since 2002. Domenic’s extensive portfolio includes work for local and international media, including The Times of Malta and The Malta Independent. He is also a Photographic Content Partner with IMAGO and a visiting lecturer at the University of Malta, where he teaches sports photography.
See Domenic Aquilina’s with IMAGO here.
Read more pieces by Domenic Aquilina in The Game Magazine:
Malta, 2022: A Summer of Sport by Domenic Aquilina
Frame by Frame with Domenic Aquilina: The Tale of My Busy Summer Nights
The Malta Premier League by Domenic Aquilina
Domenic Aquilina: Capturing History at 10 Frames per Second
