Who should win BBC Sports Personality of the Year? We made the case for each nominee – and picked our winner

Is there any stopping Rory McIlroy? We asked our writers

Rory McIlroy, Chloe Kelly, Hannah Hampton, Lando Norris, Luke Littler and Ellie Kildunne are nominated (Getty/iStock)

The shortlist for the 2025 BBC Sports Personality of the Year award is out; so let the arguing begin.

Rory McIlroy, Chloe Kelly, Hannah Hampton, Lando Norris, Luke Littler and Ellie Kildunne are the six names in the running, with a first-time winner set to be crowned for the fifth consecutive year.

After memorable triumphs for the Lionesses and Red Roses, will one of Kelly, Hampton or Kildunne continue the streak and make it a fifth women’s winner in a row? Or will this finally be McIlroy’s time after the season of his life?

Could one of Britain’s popular world champions, Littler or Norris, break through and add the Sports Personality of the Year trophy to their career-defining titles? It’s down to the public to decide. But here is the case for each of the contenders.

Rory McIlroy

The raw, unfiltered emotion of Rory McIlroy at Augusta, on his knees after claiming that elusive Masters title, will live long in the memory of sports fans.

We watch sport for the unscripted drama and McIlroy is an expert at pulling you along for the ride, especially during that final push from Amen Corner to the gripping play-off against Ryder Cup teammate Justin Rose. Sport thrives when the main characters face adversity and McIlroy has endured more than many of his contemporaries combined, including the ugly Bethpage cauldron, where he fought admirably to help Luke Donald’s Europe prevail in the Ryder Cup on away soil. The epitome of sporting greatness, it's time for the man from Holywood to be recognised by Spoty.

Jack Rathborn

McIlroy completed golf’s grand slam when he ended his quest to win the Masters (AP)

Chloe Kelly

Most players can only dream of producing a game-winning or game-saving moment for their country at a major international tournament. Well, Chloe Kelly had three in a row, from the quarter-finals to the semi-finals and then the Euro 2025 final as the Lionesses defended their European crown in Switzerland. And that’s it: in terms of the “moment” of the sporting summer, look no further than clutch Kelly thumping the winning penalty of the final shootout against Spain, with that trademark confidence, and a resilient backstory that led to her stunning Euros run. Sport is at its best when it pulls people together and over 16 million tuned in for the Euros final, with Kelly keeping cool to deliver the moment of the most-watched event of the year. That carries weight...

Kelly struck England’s winning penalty in the Euro 2025 final and her game-changing impact led the Lionesses to glory (Reuters)

Hannah Hampton

... but there are two Lionesses players on the shortlist! Do Kelly and Hampton take votes from each other, to strengthen the case for standout favourite McIlroy? Perhaps, but I sympathise with those on the shortlisting panel because, I would argue, Hampton has more of a case to win this award than Kelly. The goalkeeper has her own inspirational backstory, had her moment in the final shootout as she saved two Spain penalties, and was England’s best player throughout Euro 2025. Without Hampton, England would not have stayed in the tournament long enough for Kelly to make her impact. Add in an unbeaten domestic treble with Chelsea, against Kelly’s Champions League with Arsenal, and Hampton deserves to win this on sporting merit.

Jamie Braidwood

Hampton saved from Mariona Caldentey and Aitana Bonmati in the shootout and was arguably the player of Euro 2025 (Getty)

Lando Norris

Why was the shortlist only released a week in advance, I hear you ask? The answer is that the BBC had to wait to see if Norris could finish the job in Abu Dhabi. The F1 world championship holds weight. In fact, every British champion in the last 48 years has won Spoty, aside from Jenson Button missing out in 2009 to… Ryan Giggs. On the face of it, winning a title in the quickest car is a simple feat. In reality, up against a generational talent in Max Verstappen and a rapid teammate in Oscar Piastri, Norris had to overcome two terrific drivers and, more significantly, his inner frailties over the course of the season. The 26-year-old refused to relent to the outside noise. He did it “his way” – despite all those telling him to change – and deserves immense respect for that.

Kieran Jackson

Norris became Britain’s 11th world champion as he edged Verstappen by two points at the final race of the season (Getty)

Luke Littler

No darts player has ever won Spoty’s main award and there is an argument to say none ever will so long as the PDC World Darts Championship final is scheduled at the start of January, about as far back in voters’ memories as it can get. But Littler could not have done much more to change that particular statistic this year: world champion at Alexandra Palace; UK Open champion in March; World Matchplay champion in July; World Grand Prix champion in October; he won the Grand Slam of Darts and the Players Championship last month, too. In doing so, Littler usurped Luke Humphries as world No 1, and it could be many years before he gives up the mantle. A reminder – he is an 18-year-old who has just passed his driving test, likes Xbox and loves kebabs. Could the British public ask for anything more in a sporting hero?

Lawrence Ostlere

Littler, who finished second in Spoty voting in 2024, became the sport’s youngest world champion and world No 1 this year (Getty)

Ellie Kildunne

This was the year the Red Roses fulfilled their destiny and crowned their dominance with a long-awaited World Cup, and Ellie Kildunne was their brightest star. It was a collective effort that led England to victory on home soil but the full-back dazzled with two tries in the semi-final and then produced a sparkling individual score to get the party started at Twickenham. Unapologetically herself on and off the pitch, Kildunne has a magnetic quality that has attracted her own legion of fans, clad in cowboy hats in the swelling audiences that now accompany the Red Roses wherever they go.

Harry Latham-Coyle

Ellie Kildunne helped England to Women’s Rugby World Cup glory this summer (PA Wire)

Verdict

Rory McIlroy. All six names on this shortlist have a strong case to be Sports Personality of the Year and would be fully deserving of the trophy if the public turns out for them on 18 December. But McIlroy should win. It would not be a “scandal” or a “fix” if he doesn’t, given the competition, but winning the Masters to complete golf’s grand slam was iconic and adding an away Ryder Cup victory into the mix rounds off a sporting year sent from the gods. McIlroy also benefits from the fact that this would be a “legacy” award, too. Andy Murray is a three-time Sports Personality of the Year and Lewis Hamilton has two; McIlroy belongs in their company, as one of our enduring sporting stars of the last two decades, and his career deserves to be recognised by winning Sports Personality of the Year at least once. It has to be this year.