BBC Sports Unsung Hero Award
The BBC Sports Unsung Hero Award was an award given annually as part of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony each December. Presented from 2003 to 2024, the award was given to the sportsperson who has made a substantive yet unrecognised contribution to sport.
History
The inaugural winner in 2003 was 63-year-old Nobby Woodcock, for "his unstinting work with grassroots football in Wales". Of the fourteen recipients to date, four were chosen for their contributions to football; the other recipients contributed towards boxing, basketball, athletics, swimming, sailing and the Special Olympics. As of 2024, six of the twenty two winners have each been put forward from the BBC East Midlands region, four from the BBC South region and two from the BBC East and BBC Scotland regions. The other winners came from the BBC London, BBC North West, BBC Northern Ireland, BBC West, BBC West Midlands and BBC Wales regions. The most recent award was presented in 2024 to Jean Paton.Nomination procedure
Sportspeople are nominated by the public, and must be aged 16 years or over on 1 January that year. Nominees may not put themselves forward or be nominated by a member of their immediate family. A nominee must actively help others participate in a sport at any level on a voluntary basis. The work they do must not be part of their job or take part within their places of work, and they must not be a participant in the sporting group they are helping. Previous winners of the award are ineligible for nomination. One winner is selected from each of the twelve BBC English Regions, and the three national regions: BBC Scotland, BBC Wales, and BBC Northern Ireland. A judging panel then chooses the Unsung Hero winner from the fifteen regional winners.Winners
By region
This table lists the total number of awards won by the BBC Region through which the recipient qualified for the award.By sport
This table lists the total number of awards won by the sport the recipient contributed towards.| Sport of contribution | Number of wins |
| Football | 4 |
| Swimming | 4 |
| Basketball | 3 |
| Boxing | 2 |
| Athletics | 1 |
| Rugby | 1 |
| Sailing | 1 |
| Special Olympics | 1 |
| Various | 5 |