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BBC reveal six nominees for Sports Personality of the Year

Kelly’s England team-mate Hannah Hampton is among the six nominees alongside Lando Norris, Luke Littler and Ellie Kildunne.

By contributor Ian Parker, Press Association
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Chloe Kelly, left, and Rory McIlroy have been nominated for BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2025

England team-mates 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.

England goalkeeper Hannah Hampton
England goalkeeper Hannah Hampton has also been nominated (Nick Potts/PA)

Newly-crowned Formula One 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.

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.

Ellie Kildunne bites her Women's Rugby World Cup medal
Ellie Kildunne helped England to Women’s Rugby World Cup glory this summer (Ben Whitley/PA)

Kildunne scored five tries as England won the Women’s Rugby World Cup this summer. Although she missed the quarter-final with concussion, Kildunne scored two tries in the semi-final 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 December 18, with viewers able to vote live during the show.