Legacy: Mead hopes her award is only the start for women’s sport
(Picture: PA)Beth Mead is hopeful her BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award can act as a further catalyst for women’s sport.
The Lionesses sealed a clean sweep of Wednesday night’s big awards as they won the team accolade and Sarina Wiegman came away with the coach of the year gong.
And Mead capped it off by winning the top honour, beating England Test captain Ben Stokes into second place and curling Olympic gold medallist Eve Muirhead into third.
Following their Euros success – England’s first major tournament success of any kind since 1966 – Mead became the first female footballer to win SPOTY, and the first footballer since Ryan Giggs in 2009.
And the 27-year-old said: “I have my fingers crossed I’m not the last. I really hope it is a kick start for women’s football in general and there are some more footballing names up there.
“Most of all, this is for women’s sport and for women’s sport heading in the right direction. Let’s keep pushing girls and keep doing the right things.
“Women’s sport is heading in the right direction and that’s where we want it to continue to head. You look at the podium tonight, there are two women there. It is incredible how far football has come – cricket, rugby, curling, gymnastics. We want to keep pushing that even more for the next generation.”
Mead had been the runaway favourite with bookmakers to win the public vote after proving the star performer for England on their way to Euros glory.
She won player of the tournament and the Golden Boot as top scorer with six before being narrowly edged out for the Ballon d’Or by Alexia Putellas.
Mead’s season was ended prematurely after she ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in her knee last month and arrived at the event on crutches, though walked unaided to collect the award.
In an emotional tribute, she singled out her family amid her mother June’s battle with cancer.
“I am incredibly honoured to win this award,” she said. “I have got this accolade and I did my job, I scored a few goals but I wouldn’t have done it without my team and I certainly wouldn’t have done it without my dad, my mum and my family.
“I still find it quite surreal. I’m Beth Mead, I kick a bag of air around a football pitch. It is quite humbling.”
Mead won from a six-person shortlist which was notable for the absence of US Open-winning golfer Matt Fitzpatrick, even presenter Gary Lineker vocalising his surprise at the omission in the build-up to the night.
Lineker had tweeted: “Starting rehearsals for SPOTY and saw the list of contenders doesn’t contain Matt Fitzpatrick.”
