Comment: After the year of his life, the award should go to Rory McIlroy - though it does not make it a scandal if the public decides to crown someone else
Rory McIlroy will be feeling confident when he takes his seat in the audience at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award tonight. We will know that simply because of his presence in the room, and because it is an honour that still carries enough significance and prestige that you want to be there if there’s a good chance you’re going to win.
Others may disagree. McIlroy, in the past, has been among them. But then, for some, bashing the Sports Personality of the Year contest is as much of an annual ritual than the prize itself, an opportunity to take cheap shots at the BBC among other things.
McIlroy has enjoyed an exceptional year, the stuff of dreams, spearheaded by two successes at the Masters and Ryder Cup so astonishing that they may as well have been scripted. There’s no argument against that.
He won the Masters but did so on an agonising final round that displayed his vulnerabilities and the strength to overcome them, the qualities that make him such an endearing, inspiring champion. Leading Europe to an away Ryder Cup victory, against that American crowd at Bethpage Black, further strengthens his credentials and claim to a season that stands above the rest.
And with McIlroy, there is also the sense of if he isn’t crowned SPOTY this year, then when will he ever be? There may be the acknowledgement of legacy and past achievements now he has completed golf’s career slam. Certainly, given Andy Murray won SPOTY three times and Lewis Hamilton has done so twice, few would argue that McIlroy would not belong in their company in terms of British sporting greats of the past 20 years.
So, sure, the Northern Irishman should probably win, but this is also a public vote, decided on the night, and the history of this award can tell us it is rarely that straightforward.
At which point, it is worth considering what may happen should McIlroy lose out; or, rather, what the reaction would be depending on who he could lose out to. The Daily Mail has already declared there would be a “stain” on SPOTY should McIlroy not win the award this year.
Why? Yes, McIlroy has the strongest case in terms of his achievements. Yes, his victory at Augusta and what Europe achieved at Bethpage Black stirred emotions and created unforgettable drama. But, increasingly, the biggest factor in SPOTY voting can be the divide between sport that is behind a paywall and sport that is open to the largest audience possible, and it is a line that McIlroy, through no fault of his own, falls on the wrong side of.
It is why Chloe Kelly or Hannah Hampton (unless they split the vote) may stand as the biggest threat to McIlroy after another major tournament victory for the Lionesses. It is why Ellie Kildunne is an excellent outside contender, and why her world champion Red Roses may beat both Europe’s Ryder Cup team and the Lionesses to team of the year.
Sport is ultimately at its best when it is bringing people together. Its power is greatest when it can uplift and inspire. Ultimately, the most-watched moment of 2025 was Hampton saving from Aitana Bonmati and Mariona Caldentey and Kelly thumping her penalty into the net as the Lionesses won the Euros again – becoming the first England football team to win a major tournament on foreign land. The victory that had within it the capacity to influence society was the Red Roses lifting the World Cup at a sold-out Twickenham, a dominant, jubilant team celebrating how it had broken down barriers while demonstrating that strength and athleticism comes in different shapes and sizes.
An accusation often levelled at the BBC is that its diminished offering of live sport means it has lost other events that consistently conjured this magic, such as the Masters. But in turn, the decision to platform the Women’s Euros and Women’s Rugby World Cup has seen audiences, particularly female viewership, hit record numbers. The success of a Lionesses or Red Roses team can now become a national event in the same way as men’s football or men’s rugby. It’s almost as if making live sport accessible and these athletes visible, following decades of marginalisation and catering to the male audience, has brought in new fans and levels of interest across a broader range.
This should be celebrated. But then, this is the BBC. To some, even the all-female presenting line-up of tonight’s event, in Gabby Logan, Clare Balding and Alex Scott, is evidence of an organisation and SPOTY award that has gone overly woke and lost its shine. You can probably imagine, then, what the reaction would be should either Kelly or Hampton follow Beth Mead in 2022 and Mary Earps in 2023 and win, even if more than 16 million people watched the Lionesses’ latest tournament victory.
How the votes between Kelly and Hampton are split will be another factor as, for the first time, two members of the same team have been named on the final shortlist. Why both? It may be down to England’s bewildering summer of survival and Kelly’s rather curious role within it, the star who delivered on the biggest moments but yet did not start a match. Over the course, Hampton was integral to keeping the Lionesses alive and the goalkeeper was unlucky to not win player of the Euro 2025 – she was certainly England’s.
The truth is that any of the six on the final shortlist would deserve to win. That includes the two individual world champions, one crowned at the start of the year and the other less than a fortnight ago, in Luke Littler and Lando Norris, both of whom are immensely popular as well. But, after the year of his life, it should be McIlroy. It does not, though, make it a scandal or bring a “stain” on the award if the public decides to crown someone else.
Category: General Sports
