Manchester United and England goalkeeper Mary Earps was crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2023 this evening in front of a star-studded audience and people at home watching live on BBC One and iPlayer. Stuart Broad came second and Katarina Johnson-Thompson took third place for the prestigious award.
In an electrifying crescendo to an unforgettable evening celebrating sporting greatness, football sensation Mary Earps soared to victory, claiming the coveted title of BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2023.
It was Mary Earps’ exceptional talent, passion and unwavering dedication that made her England’s standout player this year, as they reached the Women’s World Cup final for the first time. She played every minute of their seven matches, conceding only four goals and keeping three clean sheets, which helped her win the World Cup’s Golden Glove award.
Mary was voted England Women’s Player of the Year for 2022-2023 and finished fifth in the voting for the Ballon d’Or award. The reigning FIFA Best Women’s Goalkeeper was also integral as England won the inaugural Women’s Finalissima with a penalty shoot-out defeat of Brazil in April. In domestic football she claimed the Women’s Super League Golden Glove for the 2022-23 season with Manchester United.
On winning BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2023, Mary Earps said: I’m very honoured and humbled. For me, I feel like this is the ultimate all round sporting accolade. And I think us as Lionesses and obviously United as well, we’ve had an incredible couple of years. This is just wow. It’s not been the easiest journeys and I definitely wouldn’t be where I am today without a number of incredible people in my court. So finally, I just want to say thank you to them”.
The Helen Rollason Award was presented to legendary British athlete Fatima Whitbread who had a difficult start to life. Abandoned as a baby, she spent the first fourteen years of her life living in children’s homes before she was adopted by Margaret Whitbread, a local javelin coach. Fatima fell in love with the sport and with her mum as her coach she rose to the top of her profession, becoming world champion in 1987 and a double Olympic medallist. Since retiring from athletics she has dedicated her time to various charities, helping children who had a similar experience to her and providing assistance and guidance to those leaving the care sector.
Erling Haaland was awarded World Sport Star of the Year after his goals helped Manchester City claim an historic treble. Haaland’s individual awards for the season included both the Premier League’s Player and Young Player of the Season, the Football Writers’ Association’s Footballer of the Year, the Uefa Men’s Player of the Year and the Gerd Muller Trophy at the Ballon d’Or awards for best goalscorer – where he also came second in the voting for best player. He claimed the Premier League’s Golden Boot with a record 36 goals in 38 games, and his 52 goals in all competitions was the most by a Premier League player within a season.
Manchester City then took home BBC Sport’s Personality’s Team of the Year. In 2023, the team lifted the Premier League title, FA Cup and Champions League trophies, becoming just the eighth European side to do so and just the second from England after neighbours Manchester United in 1998-99. In lifting the title for a third successive season they joined Huddersfield Town, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United (twice) as the only English top-flight sides to do so. In total, City scored 150 goals across all competitions in the 2022-23 season, the most of any team in Europe’s top five leagues. They also won the Uefa Super Cup for the first time.
Echoing their 2023 treble win, Manchester City claimed a third award at this year’s BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards with their manager Pep Guardiola named Coach of the Year for overseeing their historic success. As well as their securing a first-ever treble, Guardiola also led them to a maiden Uefa Super Cup triumph, making him the first manager to lift the trophy with three different clubs. It was the 15TH piece of silverware he’s won since taking over at the Etihad Stadium just seven years ago, and the 37th of his managerial career. His feats saw the Spaniard win the Premier League Manager of the Season, the LMA Manager of the Year, the LMA Premier League Manager of the Year and the Uefa Men’s Coach of the Year awards.
The BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year was awarded to Mia Brookes (16, Cheshire) who had a phenomenal year becoming the youngest world champion in snowboarding history just over a month after turning 16. In winning gold she became the first female snowboarder to land a Cab 1440 in a competition and the first British athlete to win a world title in the slopestyle discipline. Mia achieved all of this while studying for and sitting her GCSE’s and she has since gone on to secure the overall freestyle snowboard World Cup Big Air title.
Desmond Smith, from Yorkshire, was the overall winner of the Unsung Hero award. After emigrating to Sheffield from the Caribbean in the 1960s, he made it his life’s mission to support the people within his community and in 1986 he launched the Sheffield Caribbean Sports Club. What started out as a safe haven for a handful of young people has now evolved into an all-inclusive sports club supporting five cricket teams, eight junior football sides, and has over 40 young people attending the venue to train up to four times a week in either football, cricket, hockey or netball.
Finally, Sir Kenny Dalglish was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement award. The Celtic, Liverpool and Scotland footballing legend, ‘King Kenny’ was presented with the award for his incredible life and dedication to football.
A career full of highlights, Sir Kenny scored 167 times in 320 appearances and lifted nine trophies at Celtic Park before departing in 1977 for Liverpool. His creativity, vision, and clinical finishing made him a revered striker and he won three European Cups and six league titles as a player at Anfield, as well as many prestigious individual honours. Internationally, he played in three World Cups and is still Scotland’s record men’s appearance maker with 102 caps and joint record scorer with Denis Law on 30 goals.
Dalglish seamlessly transitioned into a player-manager role, guiding Liverpool to a league and cup double in his first season in charge, cementing his status as one of the most successful figures in football history. Further trophies followed before he then went on to manage Blackburn Rovers, taking them from the Second Division to a memorable Premier League title within just four years.
