Sir Mo Farah and Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill lead an impressive shortlist at the 3rd Lycamobile British Ethnic Diversity Sports Awards, which will be hosted by Sir Lenny Henry at the London Hilton Park Lane Hotel. Sir Mo, the 2-time double Olympic gold medalist for 5000 and 10000 metres, leads an impressive group of sportsmen and women nominated for the third Lycamobile British Ethnic Diversity Sports Awards (BEDSAs).
The awards, now in its third year, are organised by Sporting Equals, the national partner of Sport England and advisors to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport. Sponsored by Lycamobile, the world’s largest mobile virtual network operator, the Awards are leading the way in recognising and celebrating sporting excellence within Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities.
Sir Mo will go ‘head-to-head’ with Saracens and England second row forward, Maro Itoje, Olympic Taekwondo silver medalist, Lutalo Muhamad and two-time Olympic rower and Rio gold medal winner, Mohamed Sbihi, for the coveted Sportsman of the Year award.
Commenting on his first ever nomination Farah said; “I am proud to be nominated alongside a great group of sportsmen and women in what was an amazing year for British sport."
Densign White, Sporting Equals Chairperson and three-time judo Olympian, said; "We are delighted by the quality of our shortlist for the 2017 BEDSAs and looking forward to celebrating all that is good in BAME sport at the Hilton Park Lane with Sir Lenny Henry and our esteemed sporting guests."
The finalists for Sportswoman of the Year award feature London 2012 Olympic gold medalist, Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill, Nicola Adams, the 2-time Olympic boxing champion, Kadeena Cox, Rio Paralympic double-gold medalist and Olympic Hockey Gold medalist and recent ‘I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here’ contestant, Sam Quek MBE. This year's judges include former Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and England footballer Sol Campbell, former Olympic athletes Derek Redmond and Jason Gardner MBE, Surrey and England batsman Mark Butcher, UK Sport CEO Liz Nicholl, Leicestershire County Cricket Club CEO Wasim Khan MBE, Paralympic shot putter Vanessa Daobry and Channel 4 Paralympics host, Ade Adepitan MBE.
Lycamobile Chair, Allirajah Subaskaran, said: “I would like to congratulate all those shortlisted for this year’s BEDSAs. This list of nominees represents an impressive collection of Black, Asian and minority ethnic sportsmen and women, all of whom deserve celebrating for their substantial contribution to sporting excellence in the UK.”
The Lycamobile BEDSAs, taking place on Saturday March 18, are supported by Sport England, UK Sport, The Tennis Foundation, Youth Sport Trust, England Athletics, The Armed Forces, Mind and Spirit of 2012.
