(BBC) England and Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling has become an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for his services to racial equality in sport. Sterling, 26, has campaigned against racial injustice on and off the pitch continually since 2017.
Television presenter and former tennis player Sue Barker has become a CBE for her services to sport, broadcasting and charity. Former England manager Roy Hodgson also becomes a CBE. Hodgson, who stepped down as Crystal Palace manager in May, was rewarded for his 45-year-long career in football that has seen him manage 16 clubs in eight countries.
Sterling said: “Receiving this honour is a fantastic feeling and a proud moment – not just for myself but for my family and friends. “I am grateful to have been recognised but my priority is to try to help to educate society and myself. If it doesn’t start from within, then there’s no way you can help others. I’m learning every day.”
Liverpool captain and England midfielder Jordan Henderson, who becomes an MBE, has been recognised for not only his service to football but also to charity, particularly during Covid-19. In response to the pandemic, Henderson rallied his fellow captains and players to form the Premier League coronavirus fund to raise money for the NHS.
The midfielder also became an ambassador to NHS Charities Together, an organisation which raises funds for more than 240 National Health Services charities, and dedicated his MBE to NHS staff. “My family and I feel greatly humbled to be recognised in this way, more so given the reason for it,” he said. “There are many privileges that come from playing professional football, but having a platform to promote a charitable cause such as Players Together and NHS Charities Together is as big a privilege as any.
“It’s important for me to state that although the honour has been issued to me personally, the credit must be shared to a far larger group of people and I accept this in the knowledge I was part of something special, rather than the reason for it.”
Roy Hodgson told BBC Sport his own award showed football was recognised “as a very valid and even important part of our English culture”. He added: “A lot of people who are in the entertainment industry, especially people in the theatre or in the world of music, they are being often honoured because of the contribution they make culturally to our society. But it’s rather nice I think that on this occasion, Raheem for maybe slightly different reasons but certainly myself have been recognised for something which is purely football related.”
Kevin Sinfield, director of rugby at Leeds Rhinos, has become an OBE for his services to rugby league and charitable fundraising. Sinfield captained Leeds Rhinos before retiring in 2016 and taking up his current position. In recent years, he has been fundraising for motor neurone disease, alongside former team-mate Rob Burrow, who is living with the illness.
