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With the football World Cup only just having reached it’s climax, it is fair to suggest that a few people might have taken their eyes off the ball concerning the Sports Personality of the Year – or SPOTY for short – award. We haven’t though and here we bring you a look at some of the contenders to life the crown including the odds of the favourites and some more left field choices.
What is SPOTY and who can win it?
Contents
The Sports Personality of the Year is an award hosted by the BBC. It is given to the ‘best personality’ that has achieved sporting excellence within the year and is presented towards the end of each calendar year. Whilst some people criticise the award, it has some serious longevity to it having first been awarded in 1954; that’s nearly 70 years ago!
On top of that, some big names have got their hands on the trophy over the years. Most recently, then teen tennis sensation Emma Raducanu earned the coveted prize whilst the likes of Michael Owen, Paul Gascoigne, Lennox Lewis, Seb Coe, David Beckham, Bobby Moore, Lewis Hamilton, Kelly Holmes and Jonny Wilkinson have all seen their names etched into the history books.
With things like the World Cup having just taken place, you might expect to see names like Lionel Messi in contention to win the honour, however, that won’t be happening. Not anyone can win the award. The winner of the SPOTY has to be British or perform the majority of their sport in the UK. For this reason, sports personalities such as Messi and, to a more confusing level, Rachael Blackmore aren’t allowed to scoop the award.
Who will win the 2022 award?
Jordan Pickford @ 100/1
England’s number one goalkeeper is certainly a long shot where this award is concerned but there are a couple of reasons why his name is remotely in the running. He almost single handedly dragged Everton to safety in the Premier League last season with a string of impressive performances between the sticks. As for his contribution for England in Qatar, his position was questioned by some fans but he never put a foot wrong. If only the same could be said for Harry Kane…
Tyson Fury @ 33/1
We might be taking a big drop in odds here with heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury ‘only’ priced at 33/1 but he’s still somewhat of an outsider. He has had another big year though and the personality of the self-proclaimed Gypsy King is unquestioned. Whether he’s calling out rivals, winning fights or highlighting mental health issues, people always tune into Fury. As for sporting achievement, he blitzed Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora winning both fights via TKO. Both happened to big showcase events held in England’s capital too at Wembley and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium respectively.
Ronnie O’Sullivan @ 20/1
If you want personality then ‘Rocket’ Ronnie has got it in abundance. His 2022 has been pretty remarkable as well, which is saying something when you consider the levels he’s set himself over his career. During this year, the English snooker player chalked up his seventh World Championship becoming the oldest winner ever and reclaimed his place as world number one. At one point, he was favourite to win SPOTY but the straight talking O’Sullivan was quick to dismiss his chances stating he should have won it numerous times before before citing that they would always ‘find a reason to not give it to me.’ Reverse psychology? We’ll see.
Ben Stokes @ 16/1
Cricketer Ben Stokes knows all about winning Sports Personality of the Year and at 16/1 he is second favourite to win it in 2022 as well; that would see him join an illustrious club of two-time victors. Why then is he in contention this year? Well, on the sporting front alone he took on the honour of being England test captain before inspiring the nation to T20 World Cup glory. Retirement from the ODI form of the game and a generous charitable offer to help those impacted by the floods in Pakistan are ‘off the field’ matters that could come into the reckoning too.
Beth Mead @ 1/20
At 20/1 on, it is hard to believe that anyone but Beth Mead is going to get their hands on the SPOTY award but, in truth, who can begrudge her after the 2022 she’s had? The big achievement that will spring to mind for people will be Mead’s key role in inspiring the England Lionesses‘ to glory in a major tournament- namely the 2022 European Championship. There has been, however, much more to her success. That Euros run saw Mead score half a dozen goals and lay on a further five assists – both were tournament highs. Mead also pushed hard in the Ballon d’Or voting as she came second and having already won the Sports Journalists’ Association this year she looks set to take first place here as well!
All odds stated are as per bet365 and were accurate at the time of writing.
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