England teammates Chloe Kelly and Hannah Hampton are up against one another for BBC Sports Personality of the Year on a shortlist that also includes Lando Norris, Rory McIlroy, Luke Littler and Ellie Kildunne.
Kelly and Hampton were at the centre of England’s dramatic penalty shootout win over Spain in the Euro 2025 final, with Kelly scoring the winning spot-kick after Hampton had made two critical saves.
For Kelly, it came after a difficult period personally, but after leaving Manchester City for Arsenal within months she was a European champion and Champions League winner. Hampton’s heroics saw the Chelsea stopper win the Yashin Trophy for the world’s best female goalkeeper at the Ballon d’Or awards.
Newly-crowned Formula 1 world champion Norris, the 11th Briton to take the title, has driven his way on to the list after edging out Max Verstappen and McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri in a tense end to the season that saw the closest finish to an F1 season for 15 years.
Littler started the year by becoming the youngest world champion in darts history still only 17, and went on to become only the fifth player ever to complete the PDC Triple Crown with the world championship, Premier League and Matchplay titles, rising to number one in the rankings.
– Norris to run with No.1 on McLaren in 2026
– McIlroy: Tour merger with ‘irrational’ LIV unlikely
– Kelly’s move to Arsenal changed her life
McIlroy, 36, has enjoyed two great victories in 2025. At the Masters, he emerged from a dramatic play-off against Justin Rose to become only the sixth man to complete a grand slam of golf’s four majors. Then at the Ryder Cup he contributed three and a half points to Europe’s dramatic victory over the USA.
Kildunne scored five tries as England won the Women’s Rugby World Cup this summer. Although she missed the quarterfinal with concussion, Kildunne scored two tries in the semifinal win over France, and then added another in the final over Canada, having already helped seal Six Nations glory.
The Sports Personality of the Year will be awarded at a ceremony in Salford on Dec. 18, with viewers able to vote live during the show.
