Gareth Southgate and Gerald Davies awarded knighthoods in New Year Honours

Former England manager Gareth Southgate and former Wales and British and Irish Lions wing Gerald Davies have been knighted in the New Year Honours.

Southgate, led England to two consecutive European Championship finals and the 2018 World Cup semi-finals, making him the most successful incumbent since Sir Alf Ramsey.

The 54-year-old, who left the role shortly after England’s defeat to Spain in the Euro 2024 final in July, becomes the fourth former England manager to receive a knighthood, after Ramsey, Sir Walter Winterbottom, and Sir Bobby Robson.

Football Association chair Debbie Hewitt paid tribute to Southgate, saying his honour was “richly deserved”, that he “embodied the best of English football” and hailed him as “one of our greatest ever managers”.

She added that Southgate had “inspired players to share his pride in representing England” and that it had been “a privilege to know the man and the manager.”

Davies, the former Wales and British and Irish Lions wing who subsequently served as president of the Welsh Rugby Union, has also been knighted for services to his sport and for voluntary and charitable service in Wales.

Davies played for Wales between 1966 and 1978 and won three Grand Slams. He toured with the Lions in 1968 and 1971 making five appearances.

“I feel very emotional about it. I am surprised by it. Words are really quite inadequate to describe it,” Davies told the PA news agency.

“It comes out of the blue. I was dumbstruck in many ways, but you don’t achieve these things on your own.”

Nine-time Paralympic champion Hannah Cockcroft, who has been made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), and Olympic 800 metre gold medallist Keely Hodgkinson, who becomes a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE), are among stars of Great Britain’s Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games teams who have been honoured.

Cockroft, who won two more gold medals in Paris when she successfully defended her women’s T34 100m and 800m Paralympic titles, told the PA news agency: “Being put forward for the New Year Honours list is just the perfect ending to an incredible year.

“It’s been a big year with two golds and a silver medal at the World Championships in Japan in May, two gold medals at the Paralympics in Paris this summer, and a wedding – so it was a surprise to get my letter, but such a proud moment.”

Hodgkinson said: “It’s so amazing to be recognised and to have been given this award. This year has been incredibly special for so many reasons and it’s such a nice surprise to have been honoured in this way. Bring on 2025.”

The 22-year-old athlete, who was recently crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year, is one of 14 2024 Olympic champions to be honoured.

Cyclist Tom Pidcock and swimmer Duncan Scott are both upgraded to become Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) along with Helen Glover, who came out of retirement to land a rowing silver medal in the women’s four.

Glover, a double gold medallist in London and Rio, was coaxed back for the Paris cycle after giving birth to twins in January 2020.

She told the PA news agency: “It’s such an honour to be awarded an OBE.

“I was determined that this Olympic journey would lead to winning a medal in front of three children and I felt supported by the parenting community. It makes me very proud to be recognised for trying to make a difference within this space.”

Also becoming MBEs are rowing champions Lola Anderson, Georgie Brayshaw, Emily Craig, Imogen Grant, Lauren Henry and Hannah Scott, cyclists Sophie Capewell, Emma Finucane and Katy Marchant, trampoline gold medallist Bryony Page and kite-surfing winner Ellie Aldridge.

Page, who won gold in Paris after claiming silver and bronze medals at the previous two Games, told the PA news agency: “This MBE is a wonderful accolade after such a fantastic year for me, one I am incredibly proud of, but more important I feel it is in recognition of years of dedication and efforts of my support team around me.”

Aldridge, who marked kite-surfing’s Olympic debut by soaring to gold off the coast of Marseille, said: “I feel very honoured to be on the New Year Honours list.

“It really has been an amazing year, and this feels like the cherry on the cake. I didn’t go to university and I never thought I’d ever have any letters after my name, let alone MBE.”

Athletics stars Katarina Johnson-Thompson, who won her first Olympic medal with heptathlon silver in Paris, and three-time medallist Dina Asher-Smith are also made MBEs.

“I am deeply honoured to be recognised in the King’s New Years Honours list for services to athletics,” said Johnson-Thompson.

“My small contribution has only been possible due to the huge contributions made by so many others in helping me to chase and achieve my dreams over the last 20 years.”

Penny Briscoe, the director of sport at the British Paralympic Association who also served as Chef de Mission for the fifth time in Paris, is made a CBE for services to Paralympic sport.

Briscoe told the PA news agency: “As a passionate sports fan I feel both incredibly proud and humble to receive a CBE.

“I am forever grateful for the opportunities I have been given and the unforgettable experiences I have had with the support of dedicated and talented athletes and staff.”

Alongside Cockroft, 23 other Paralympic gold medallists from Paris are honoured, including OBEs for swimmers Tully Kearney and Alice Tai, cyclist Jaco Van Gass, and rowers Lauren Rowles and Erin Kennedy, the latter of whom is also acknowledged for her work with breast cancer awareness.

Also becoming OBEs are former Formula One racer Martin Brundle, for services to motor racing and sports broadcasting, and David Moyes, most recently the manager of West Ham.

Alan Hansen, the former Liverpool great and long-time BBC pundit, has been made an MBE for services to football and broadcasting.

Dawn Astle, who set up the Jeff Astle Foundation to campaign for more research into head injuries in football on behalf of her father, who died of dementia in 2002, has been made an MBE.