FORMER READING FC goalkeeper Mary Earps capped off her spectacular year by being awarded as the BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2023.
The Lionesses number one showcased her talent with some exceptional performances to help England make it all the way to the World Cup final in the summer.
Earps put in another outstanding performance in the final against Spain where she saved a penalty, but the Lionesses fell just short in a 1-0 defeat to Spain.
The 30-year-old also won the Golden Glove for the best goalkeeper at the tournament.
She becomes the second successive Lioness to win the BBC award, following in the footsteps of Arsenal forward Beth Mead who won the award in 2022.
The current Manchester United goalkeeper has had a storied career and risen up through the ranks to become one of the world’s best shot stoppers and spent two years in the Women’s Super League with Reading.
Earps played 34 league games for the Royals between 2016-2018 and she then made the move to Germany to play for Wolfsburg before returning to England to join Man United in 2019.
After collecting the award, Earps said: “It feels pretty great off the back of a couple of really big years and 2023 has been wild in ways I couldn’t expect.
“I’m really, really grateful.
“I would not be here without my team mates with the Lionesses and at Manchester United because we’ve achieved some incredible things over the last couple of years.
“While individual accolades are great, they only come after team success. This is their trophy as much as mine.”
