"I don't miss a penalty twice."

Lioness Chloe Kelly after she stepped up to score the winning penalty in the Euro 2025 final, having had one saved in the semi-final.

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Is Chloe Kelly your BBC Sports Personality of the Year?

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In January, Chloe Kelly was unsure of her place for club and country.

But fast forward to the summer and she was a European Championship and Champions League winner.

Despite not starting a match at Euro 2025, Kelly's contributions were huge, with another successful penalty in the quarter-final shootout and a last-gasp semi-final winner before she settled the final.

Named in the team of the tournament, she was also integral to Arsenal's Champions League success and was fifth in the Women's Ballon d'Or voting.

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Chloe Kelly, the hero of the Euro 2022 final, once again showed she is England's player for the big moments by scoring the decisive penalty as the Lionesses retained their European title.

Not one but TWO members of the Lionesses squad have made this year's BBC Sports Personality of the Year shortlist!

4:52 - The Lionesses led for just four minutes and 52 seconds across their three knockout matches on their way to retaining the European Championship.

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Emma Sanders
BBC Sport women’s football news reporter

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The Lionesses retained their European crown by beating world champions Spain and becoming the first English senior team to win a major trophy on foreign soil.

That was undoubtedly the highlight of the year but Chelsea enjoyed immediate success with new manager Sonia Bompastor, who took over from Emma Hayes and delivered a domestic treble.

The Champions League trophy eluded Chelsea but it was snapped up by Arsenal - defying the odds and beating Barcelona in Lisbon for their second European title.

The release of Mary Earps’ autobiography sent shockwaves throughout women’s football and Euro 2025 star Michelle Agyemang suffered a serious knee injury, denting an otherwise blockbuster year for the teenager.

Hannah Hampton became a household name, Chloe Kelly starred in the big moments again and Leah Williamson captained England to more glory. A memorable 2025.

Right then, let's talk all things Lionesses, shall we?

2025 was a year when football came home, again!

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Sports Personality of the Year nominee Luke Littler spoke to Clare Balding via video link as he is mid-tournament at the PDC World Championships.

On how different it is playing in that tournament this year as defending champion and reigning world number one, Littler said: "It is different. You have being a defending champion on your mind and being world number one. First game I got the win and I will on Sunday to try and get another win before Christmas.

"For us players we really have to focus, especially at the World Darts Championships, but the fans bring the atmosphere. We want more fans engaging with the sport, that’s what we want.

"There’s a few titles on the list that I’ve not ticked off yet that I will go chasing next year, but for now all focus is on the World Darts Championships."

Katie Falkingham
BBC Sport disability sport reporter

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2026 looks set to be an exciting year in Para-sport, with the Winter Paralympics taking place in March in Milan-Cortina. But 2025 was equally as thrilling, with medals coming British athletes’ way from every direction.

There were World Championship titles in judo for Dan Powell, canoeing for Charlotte Henshaw, Laura Sugar, Hope Gordon and Dave Phillipson, and rowing for Ben Pritchard and the PR3 coxed mixed four, as well as for wheelchair fencer Dimitri Coutya and triathlete Dave Ellis and his guide Luke Pollard.

Great Britain won nine medals at the road cycling worlds, including a gold for Fin Graham, while an astounding 40 medals - 15 of which were gold - and a host of world records were sealed by the nation’s swimmers.

Steve Bate retired with gold at the track cycling World Championships, one of nine titles won by Britain on the boards, including Jody Cundy who won his 16th straight kilo world crown, while in athletics, Hannah Cockroft secured a golden hat-trick among 25 medals for the GB squad in New Delhi.

And in wheelchair tennis, Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid added another two Grand Slam doubles titles to their already bursting collection, while Hewett won the singles crown at the Australian Open. Andy Lapthorne also won at Melbourne Park, in the quad doubles.

Anna Thompson
BBC Sport winter sports reporter

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With the Winter Olympics less than two months away, Britain's winter sport athletes have been producing outstanding results this year.

Zoe Atkin won World Championship gold in ski halfpipe and won the World Cup Crystal Globe.

Matt Weston won world and overall skeleton titles and shared World Championship team silver with Tabby Stoecker, with Marcus Wyatt also claiming a silver medal in Lake Placid.

Scotland men took home world curling gold for a second time in two years and snowboarder Mia Brookes won back-to-back Crystal Globes for her two World Cup big air wins.

Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson won Great Britain's first figure skating world medal since Torvill and Dean 40 years ago with bronze in ice dance and the two and four-man bobsleigh teams finished third in the rankings and claimed four-man World Championship bronze.

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Here's what former Arsenal, Barcelona and France forward Thierry Henry said when he accepted his Lifetime Achievement award:

"Wow! Well, thank you! I want to thank BBC for thinking of me for this award.

"First, I want to say thank you to everyone who believed in me...and for those who didn't. I want to thank my family and my parents for supporting me.

"Now, if you will allow me, it's not an easy one, I will speak to my kids. Listen to me carefully. My biggest fear now is not being a good dad.

"For a long time, I was a guest in our own house. I forget to be present along the way and didn't spend quality time with you. It's funny how I thought for a long time I should be here for you, but it was the opposite.

"You are educating me. You are saving me from my traumas and showing me what it is to be human, vulnerable and have empathy. So please bear with me, and thank you for being you.

"This is your award, not mine."

6 - Luke Littler won six of the eight televised PDC ranking events - the World Championship, UK Open, World Matchplay, World Grand Prix, Grand Slam of Darts and Players' Championship - as the 18-year-old became world number one.

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Callum Matthews
BBC Sport darts reporter

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It’s pretty hard to talk about darts in 2025 and not just focus on the two Lukes: Littler and Humphries.

It has been a dominant year for the top two in the world rankings and there was an air of inevitably in the end when Littler overtook Humphries as world number one in November too.

The year started with Littler becoming the youngest PDC world champion at just 18. The teenager went on to win the UK Open, World Matchplay, World Grand Prix and Players Championships for the first time, while claiming back-to-back Grand Slam titles.

He broke the record for nightly wins in the Premier League too, but was stopped in the final by Humphries, who also claimed the Masters title.

You’d be a brave person to back against the two dominating for years to come. As both said in November, while they remain on opposite sides of the draw, it is up to other players to rise their levels and beat them.

A special mention for Beau Greaves too, who beat Littler in the World Youth Championships and has accepted a tour card for 2026 which will see her test herself against her male counterparts on a regular basis.

Is Luke Littler your BBC Sports Personality of the Year?

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Having captivated audiences by reaching the World Championship final in 2024, Luke Littler went one step better with a dominant victory over Michael van Gerwen in the 2025 final.

The 18-year-old's subsequent victory at the World Matchplay made him only the fifth player to complete the PDC Triple Crown of World Championship, Premier League and Matchplay titles.

He wasn't finished there, either. His triumph at the Grand Slam of Darts in November meant he climbed to world number one for the first time.

In doing so, he smashed the record as the youngest darts number one, previously held by a 24-year-old Van Gerwen.

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Luke Littler began 2025 in sensational style by becoming the youngest darts world champion in history, and went on to become the sport's youngest world number one.

Introducing Sports Personality of the Year contender number three...

A reminder that the voting for BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2025 is OPEN!

You can vote online by scanning the QR code when it appears on your screen, or by visiting THIS PAGE where you’ll also find the terms and privacy notice.

You’ll need to sign in or register for a BBC account before you can vote.

In a twist for 2025, once we have heard from all six contenders, the vote will be frozen - before reopening with only the top three remaining.

Katie Stafford
BBC Sport gymnastics reporter

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Great Britain’s gymnastics team continued to shine in 2025 and there were medals galore across the British, European and World Championships.

The men’s team grabbed the headlines at the European Championships in May, winning the European team title in Germany in addition to two individual medals. Luke Whitehouse won his third consecutive European floor title and Jake Jarman claimed a silver medal in the vault final in Leipzig.

Fast forward to the Worlds in October and Jarman added another gold to his medal haul in the men’s floor final, with Whitehouse taking silver behind him.

Olympian Joe Fraser made history by winning high bar bronze - Great Britain’s first ever medal on that apparatus at a World Championships - and, in the women’s team, Ruby Evans took home silver in the floor final and Abi Martin clinched bronze.