Which footballers have previously won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award?
Beth Mead is the latest footballer to be nominated for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award, with the Arsenal and England striker hoping to join an exclusive club of five British footballers to earn the accolade since its formation in 1954.
Mead is also vying to become the first-ever female soccer player to take home the award on Wednesday night. Winning would cap off an exceptional 2022, which saw her win Euro 2022 with the England women’s team, be named Player of the Tournament and take the Golden Boot, scoring six goals and assisting a further five.
The 27-year-old also finished second in the Ballon d’Or Feminin behind Alexia Putellas after becoming the all-time leading assist in the Women’s Super League (WSL).
Winning the BBC Sports Personality of the Year would mean Mead becomes the sixth footballer to win the award in its 68-year history, but who are the other five? FourFourTwo describes them below.
1966 -Bobby Moore
England’s captain, leader and legend for the 1966 World Cup victory on home soil inevitably took home the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award that same year.
Moore was the first Englishman to win the Jules Rimet Trophy on merit, and to this day England’s only World Cup winning captain. The centre-back was also named in the Team of the Tournament alongside teammates Gordon Banks, George Cohen, Bobby Charlton and hat-trick hero Geoff Hurst.
For West Ham, Moore helped the team reach the League Cup final where the club lost to West Brom. However, he will forever be remembered as the man who put England on the map for their first – and so far their only – World Cup.
1990 – Paul Gascoigne
Paul Gascoigne won England’s hearts with his tears in the 1990 World Cup semi-final against West Germany when he picked up a yellow card that would have kept him out of the World Cup final as England progressed. In the end they didn’t, but Gazza endeared himself so much to the British public that he was named BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
Gascoigne said on receiving the award: “I haven’t won anything in the competition yet, but the World Cup has helped put England on the map.”
Gazza played in his first international tournament at the 1990 World Cup, starting all six games. He assisted two crucial goals, in the group stage against Egypt and the last 16 against Belgium, but the semi-final seemed to overwhelm him as he picked up that yellow card.
1998 -Michael Owen
While Michael Owen became the only Englishman to ever win the Ballon d’Or in 2001, he received his BBC Sports Personality of the Year award three years earlier, in a 1998 whirlwind.
Owen exploded in the 1997/98 season, winning the Premier League Golden Boot and also being named PFA Young Player of the Year. Despite being only 18 years old, Owen’s fearless performances earned him a spot in England’s 1998 World Cup squad.
He really made his name known on the world stage during that tournament, scoring a wonder goal against Argentina in the last 16 of the tournament to prove his potential in the game.
2001 -David Beckham
Mainly awarded for sending England to the 2002 World Cup with Which With a free-kick against Greece at Old Trafford in 2001, Beckham beat 1998 winner Michael Owen for the award, despite the striker picking up the Ballon d’Or.
Indeed, Beckham’s talismanic performance in that crucial qualifier against Greece almost single-handedly earned him the award – scoring the set piece just two months before the public voted for their winner. The goal was clearly still fresh in the nation’s mind.
He also came second in the 2001 FIFA World Player of the Year after winning his third consecutive Premier League title with Manchester United. Golden Balls certainly had a 2001 to remember, okay.
2009 – Ryan Giggs
At the age of 35, Ryan Giggs enjoyed a particularly special year in his illustrious career, being named PFA Player of the Year for the 2008/09 season as he won his 11th Premier League title with Manchester United.
In the same season, he made his 800th appearance for the club he had played for since his youth team days, eventually being named Manchester United Player of the Decade.
The winger turned midfielder also helped the Red Devils reach consecutive Champions League finals, although they lost 2-0 to Barcelona.
Regardless, Giggs’ performances as he headed towards the twilight of his career earned him the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award for 2009.
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