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Shortlist of six athletes for BBC Sports Personality of the Year (SPOTY) England’s heroes feature euro 2025 And among those fighting for the prestigious prize is the Women’s Rugby World Cup.
The nominees were confirmed a week ahead of tonight’s ceremony in Salford, where a sporting star will be crowned after a year of sensational drama and achievement.
Lioness Pair hannah hampton And chloe kelly are connected to red rose supper star ellie kildun With Masters champions, on the shortlist Rory McIlroydarts sensation luke littler And newly-crowned Formula One World Champion lando norris Also nominated.
With 2025 being defined by success for the England women’s national teams, it is no surprise that Sarina Wiegman’s Lioness And red roses make up a good part of the shortlist.
With all that in mind, here’s everything you need to know ahead of SPOTY 2025.
When is BBC Sports Personality of the Year?
BBC Sports Personality of the Year The awards will be held tonight, Thursday 18th DecemberFrom 7 pm to 9 pm. Claire Balding, Gabby Logan and Alex Scott will host the awards from MediaCity in Salford.
Who is the favorite to win BBC Sports Personality of the Year?
Rory McIlroy – 4/7
This is McIlroy’s best chance to ultimately win SPOTY, a position reflected in the fact that he plans Attending the event for the first time in a decadeIf you could script a year in golf, you’d write it this way McIlroy ended his long quest for the holy grail at the Masters on a stunning final day at Augusta that shattered the nerves of everyone else watching at home, On the brink of another collapse, he laid bare his weaknesses and challenged them in a career-defining performance that reflected his irresistible appeal,
And yet, what may really impact it for McIlroy is what he faced at Bethpage Black, as he was the target of disgust and personal abuse by American fans at the Ryder Cup, and what he did again when he helped Luke Donald’s team to a great win away from home. McIlroy said, “I made my dreams come true at Augusta, then to do what we’ve done… I don’t think I’ll have a better year in my golfing career.”
Chloe Kelly – 9/2
With his trademark penalty run-up and unwavering confidence, Kelly’s influence from the bench saved Lioness But euro 2025 And then led Sarina Wiegmann’s team to glory while defending their European title in Switzerland. Despite not starting a single match, Kelly inspired a comeback against Sweden in the quarter-finals, scored the winner against Italy in the semi-finals and scored the decisive penalty in the shootout win over Spain. Lioness Became the first England team to win a major honor abroad. What a race.
Kelly could have left football at the start of the year as he settled into a spell at Manchester City. But the loan move to Arsenal was the spark he needed and his resilience in coming back summed up the England campaign. With more than 16.2 million people watching England’s win over Spain, the biggest TV audience of the year, there is no denying Kelly was beaten by Beth Mead and the Mary Earps and the Lionesses won the spot for the third time in four years.
Lando Norris – 10/3
With the F1 title battle reaching the final weekend of the season, time could be of the essence for Norris if the 26-year-old is to add SPOTY to his first world championship crown. Joining Lewis Hamilton and Jackie Stewart to become the 11th British driver to win a world title, Norris impressively dealt with setbacks to overtake Max Verstappen and displayed admirable toughness and class to emerge from a potentially bitter battle with teammate Oscar Piastri in charge of the title fight.
The honesty and humility shown by Norris after his crowning moment may endear the popular McLaren driver to SPOTY voters as well. He said: “If you compare me to all the champions of the past, am I as aggressive as them? No. Am I as courageous? No, but did I do what I needed to do to win the World Championships and perform under the most pressure, and did I come back the way I needed to? I did. I’m very proud that I could prove myself wrong.”
Luke Littler – 20/1
The darts sensation was runner-up to Olympic champion Keeley Hodgkinson at last year’s Spotty, and yet the biggest result of her young career came just weeks later when she defeated Michael van Gerwen in the Ally Pally final to become the youngest world champion of all time at the age of 17 years and 347 days.
Littler once again suffered the loss in that his signature moment had come too early, but he continued to dominate throughout the season, winning the World Grand Prix and the Grand Slam of Darts to become the youngest World No. 1 in darts history.
Hannah Hampton – 66/1
There are two Lionesses in the SPOTY shortlist, which could mean they take votes from each other. “Hampton is here because she was England’s best player throughout Euro 2025 and was arguably the player of the tournament ahead of Spain’s Etana Bonamati. The goalkeeper was under immense pressure after the shock retirement of Mary Earps, but she made vital saves throughout England’s run to the final and was then the hero in the shootout when she saved from Bonamati and Mariona Caldenti.
Of course, there would be plenty of irony at Hampton after the Earps became SPOTY, as the former goalkeeper said in his recent autobiography. However, Hampton made his point through his performances on the pitch, and can also claim to have had a more successful season overall than his England teammate. chloe kelly resulting in Chelsea’s unbeaten domestic treble.
Ellie Kildune – 40/1
In a transformative, victorious summer red roseIn which she reclaimed the Women’s World Rugby Cup and raised it aloft in front of a record 80,000 at Twickenham, it was those magical, twinkling feet ellie kildun Who often showed the way.
In a team sport, Kildun has individual talent And highlight reels that could prove popular with SPOTY voters, from his humiliating second against France in the semi-final to scoring the first for England against Canada in the World Cup final. This could make the reigning World Rugby Player of the Year an outside chance for the main award.
Best Team of the Year Award
The ‘Team of the Year’ award will now be determined by a live public vote. In recent years, only the main SPOTY award has been chosen on the night from seven award categories, but voting will now be extended to the team award.
It is going to be as competitive as the main awards in a year where the Lionesses defended their European crown at Euro 2025, the Red Roses won the Rugby World Cup on home soil and Europe’s golfers won the Ryder Cup away from home.
voting now open And the awards will go away during the live show.
- England women’s football team (Lionesses)
- England women’s rugby union team (Red Roses)
- European Ryder Cup team
Youth Sports Personality of the Year
Nominees are Michelle Agyemang, luke littlerAnd Davina Perrin.
Darts star Littler won the Young Sports Personality of the Year award last year and, as mentioned above, is in the running for the main prize after winning the World Championship before the age of 18 and becoming the sport’s youngest world No. 1.
Lionesses striker Agyemang was the breakout star of England’s summer, scoring vital goals to save Sarina Wiegman’s side against Sweden in the quarter-finals and Italy in the semi-finals. The 19-year-old was named Young Player of the Tournament after England won the Euro 2025 final on penalties.
Perrin hit a record-breaking century in 42 balls for Northern Superchargers as the England cricketer registered the fastest ever women’s century. The 19-year-old player, considered a rising star of English cricket, was also named the Professional Cricketers Association’s Young Player of the Year.
other awards
- World Sports Star of the Year
Nominees: Mariona Caldenti (football, Spain), Terence Crawford (boxing, USA), Armand Duplantis (athletics, Sweden), Sydney McLaughlin-Levron (athletics, USA), Shohei Ohtani (baseball, Japan), Mohamed Salah (football, Egypt)
- Helen Rollason Award
- coach of the year
- lifetime Achievement Award
Thierry Henry Will be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Arsenal’s record scorer, Henry is considered one of the greatest Premier League players of all time and won four Golden Boot awards in six seasons while winning two titles with the Gunners, as well as three FA Cups.
The French forward, who won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 with his country, has become one of the most popular foreign players To leave his mark on the English game Through his skill, speed and devastating finishes.
