Marcus Rashford honoured at BBC’s SPOTY Awards, fans congratulate Man United forward

Man United superstar Marcus Rashford's campaigning off the pitch received recognition at a prestigious BBC awards ceremony on Sunday. The 23-year-old forward helped his club to a 6-2 win over rivals Leeds United earlier in the day and just a few hours later, was honoured with a 'Panel Special Award' during the BBC Sports Personality of the Year (SPOTY) ceremony in Manchester. Since the pandemic, Rashford has been relentless in helping to organise the production and delivery of food for children in poverty, with the help of charities alongside him. 

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Marcus Rashford honoured at BBC SPOTY Award ceremony for off-field work

On Sunday, Marcus Rashford was honoured with a unique 'Panel Special Award' during the BBC SPOTY ceremony. The award was given 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 their school holidays.

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During the pandemic, Rashford led a successful campaign to extend the provision of free school meals for vulnerable children and still continues to work on projects to tackle child hunger. Rashford also started a campaign in June to extend free meals vouchers that has led to the Government pledging to spend £400 million to support families in need throughout 2021. In October, Rashford was awarded an MBE for services to vulnerable children during the coronavirus pandemic.

On social media, Rashford received plenty of praise and plaudits for his work in helping fight child poverty in the UK. Rashford's former teammate Romelu Lukaku and England compatriot Raheem Sterling also took to Twitter to wish the United star on his special award.

However, Rashford wasn't included in the main SPOTY category, as reports from Sportsmail claimed that the nominations needed to be based on 'sporting achievement'.

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Seven-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton, who surpassed Michael Schumacher's total of 91 Grand Prix wins this year, was named BBC SPOTY 2020. The 35-year-old F1 icon, who previously claimed the award in 2014, won the overall vote ahead of Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson in second, while Sky Sports Racing ambassador Hollie Doyle finished third.

Premier League champions Liverpool were named Team of the Year and manager Jurgen Klopp was crowned Coach of the Year.

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Image Credits - Marcus Rashford Instagram