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    Man Utd hero Rashford to be honoured with special award at Sports Personality of the Year for work fighting poverty

    MARCUS RASHFORD is to be honoured with a Special Award at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
    But the Manchester United and England striker, 23, will not be included in the shortlist for the main prize.

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    Marcus Rashford will receive a Special Award for his impact outside of footballCredit: PA:Press Association
    The Special Award has been made on behalf of the judging panel in recognition of Rashford’s exceptional impact outside of sport, in which he successfully campaigned for free school meals for kids during school holidays.
    Director of BBC Sport Barbara Slater said: “Marcus’ endeavour to give a voice to those who find themselves in a situation that he too is familiar with has been greatly admired and the panel wanted to ensure he was recognised for that.
    “In a year that has been challenging for everyone, but particularly vulnerable families, he has gone above and beyond to transcend his sport and make a real difference.

    “This award is a tribute to a remarkable young man.”
    SPOTY rules did not allow Rashford’s crusade to be included in the nominations for the main award because that is based on sporting achievement.
    Rashford will receive his gong at the Salford event on December 20.
    The England striker was named the Pride of Britain earlier this year after the success of his campaign to extend free school meals.

    He has also launched the Marcus Rashford Book Club which is aimed at encouraging youngsters to read – especially those from vulnerable and under privileged backgrounds.
    Rashford is not just excelling off the pitch though with the United striker scoring a penalty in their 4-1 win against Istanbul Basaksehir on Tuesday in the Champions League.
    And the role model can now look forward to getting his hands on the award next month for the work he has accomplished outside of football.

    Boris Johnson has ‘been in touch’ with Marcus Rashford over free school meals, Matt Hancock claims More

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    Marcus Rashford ‘set to miss BBC SPOTY shortlist’ despite Man Utd star’s brilliant charity work feeding needy kids

    MARCUS RASHFORD is set to miss out on a BBC Sports Personality of the Year nomination despite his remarkable charity work, according to reports.
    The Manchester United striker is odds-on favourite with the bookies for the award after earning plaudits for his tireless campaigning for disadvantaged children to receive free meals during school holidays.

    Marcus Rashford may be overlooked for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award despite his remarkable charity workCredit: PA:Press Association

    But the Daily Mail claims Rashford, 22, is likely to be overlooked as the Beeb’s guidelines state only ‘sporting achievements’ can be considered – despite the name of the award.
    That would leave Formula One superstar Lewis Hamilton a strong contender after the Mercedes ace beat Michael Schumacher’s long-standing wins record at the Portuguese GP.
    Rashford forced the Government into a U-turn over the summer holidays after fighting for the free school meals programme to be extended in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

    And he took on ministers again as many vulnerable children head into the half-term without the safety net of food provided at school.

    The brilliant efforts also saw the young England star given an MBE.
    But despite his heroics off the pitch, it is difficult to suggest Rashford deserves special recognition for his successes on it.
    The United academy graduate has scored 11 goals in 28 appearances so far in 2020 for club and country but has not won any major trophies since 2017.
    And his shortlist snub could pave the way for Hamilton to race clear in the votes come December 20.

    Rashford has had a decent enough spell in front of goal in 2020 but with only ‘sporting achievements’ up for consideration he looks set to miss out on the awardCredit: PA:Press Association

    Lewis Hamilton is among the favourites to land the award after another record-breaking F1 seasonCredit: Getty Images – Getty

    By then, he is expected to join Schumacher on seven world championships and extend his lead in terms of career race wins.
    However, WBC heavyweight king Tyson Fury – who dethroned Deontay Wilder in spectacular fashion in February – could be in with a shot.
    Among the other favourites for the 2020 gong is Ronnie O’Sullivan, who won his sixth World Snooker Championships at the Crucible in August.
    Ben Stokes picked up the award last year for his incredible summer helping England to Cricket World Cup glory and keeping the Ashes alive with one of the most memorable Test innings in living memory.

    Ben Stokes was the 2019 champion following his cricket heroics for EnglandCredit: PA:Press Association

    Man Utd’s Marcus Rashford helps out at food charity after MPs reject bid to extend school meals More

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    BBC may be handed live matches if Premier League clubs vote to screen every behind-closed-doors match

    THE BBC could be awarded more live Premier League matches this season if clubs vote to screen all behind-closed-doors games.
    That would mean a dramatic U-turn on their decision to block fans from watching up to 160 games on television.

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    The BBC could be awarded more live Premier League games next season Credit: Getty Images – Getty

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    Top-flight clubs will debate whether to continue screening matches during the pandemicCredit: EPA
    The Government has urged the Premier League to “follow the spirit of Project Restart” in making more games available to fans on TV.
    And clubs have now agreed to reconsider their refusal to allow more than 220 games to be shown live at a shareholders’ meeting on Thursday.
    The Telegraph claim that all twenty top-flight sides will hold talks this week to decide whether to continue screening their fixtures while fans remain banned from being in stadiums.
    The Premier League initially began talks with its broadcast partners to potentially screen every match from the beginning of the season until the start of October at the least.

    Those include Sky Sports, BT Sport and Amazon, but also the BBC, which became the first terrestrial broadcaster to air live Prem matches earlier this year.
    The Beeb also set the record for the most-watched Premier League game ever after it broadcast Southampton’s shock 1-0 win over Manchester City.
    However, the company’s radio coverage and Match of the Day show drew fewer numbers.
    And the report claims the Beeb are wary of that with highlight show MOTD costing them £211.5million in rights for the 2019-22 seasons.

    Yet sources at the rights holders, via the Telegraph, are expecting the BBC to be awarded at least one fixture if the Prem reverse their screening stance.
    That would mean the BBC showing one of the 11 games not already selected for broadcast by lead broadcasters Sky Sports and BT Sport.
    The two rivals have already swooped to show every one of Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City’s this month.
    As with Project Restart, Sky, BT and Amazon would be expected to be given nearly all the other remaining matches.

    A potential split would see Sky awarded six or seven, BT two or three and Amazon and the BBC one each.
    Sources were not expecting the Premier League to present an alternative method of screening the eleven matches – such as via clubs’ own websites.
    A pay-per-view model is also unlikely to be approved at this stage.

    Premier League 2020-21 opening day fixtures revealed More

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    Southampton vs Man City sets Premier League viewing figure record as BBC eclipse Sky Sports with third ever game

    SOUTHAMPTON’S shock win over Manchester City was the most-watched Premier League game ever. A record 5.7million tuned into the BBC’s live coverage of the game at St Mary’s on Sunday evening. The BBC’s coverage of Southampton vs Manchester City drew in a record audience of 5.7millionCredit: BBC It was just the third Premier League game […] More

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    Premier League fans will get to vote for favourite chants to cheer on teams when crowdless games return

    PREMIER LEAGUE fans will be able to virtually cheer on their team when crowdless games return – by voting against rival supporters to hear their team’s best chants. It could see Liverpool supporters still going head to head with those from Everton in the potential title-winning game, as part of a raft of innovations from […] More

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    Amazon Prime make all four Premier League fixtures FREE to watch in huge boost for fans as 2019-20 season restarts

    AMAZON PRIME have given a huge boost to fans by announcing that all four of their remaining Premier League fixtures will be FREE to watch. The streaming giants had great success airing England’s top-flights games over the festive period and were scheduled to screen several matches following the Premier League’s return. Amazon Prime have announced […] More