Former England footballer Alan Shearer and England cricket captain Alastair Cook have been made CBEs in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List.
Formula 1’s Claire Williams and former jockey Hayley Turner become OBEs.
Davis Cup captain Leon Smith and player Jamie Murray, Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson and Welsh Rugby Union president Dennis Gethin are made OBEs.
There are MBEs for Chelsea Ladies’ manager Emma Hayes, cricketer Stuart Broad and rugby referee Nigel Owens.
Shearer leads football awards
Former England and Newcastle captain Alan Shearer, who was made an OBE in 2001, becomes a CBE in recognition of his charitable services to the community in north-east England.
Shearer, 45, scored a record 260 Premier League goals in an 18-year playing career, hit 30 goals for his country and was top scorer at Euro ’96.
Since retiring in 2006, he has worked as an analyst for the BBC’s Match of the Day programme, and also acts as patron for the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation and the Alan Shearer Centre for people with complex disabilities.
“It was a huge surprise and hard work to keep it quiet from the rest of my family and friends,” he told BBC Sport.
Talking about his charity work, Shearer added: “I had to give something back. Footballers get a lot of criticism for not giving enough back.
“I was determined not just to hand the money over. I wanted to take an active part in helping to run it. It is great to be involved.”
Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson is made an OBE for his services to the economy, sport and community on Teesside.
Gibson, 58, is the majority owner of a company that specialises in the transportation of chemicals and has used part of his estimated £195m fortune to bankroll Middlesbrough.
They will play in the Premier League next season after seven years in the Championship.
Gibson has also been an outspoken campaigner for the North East, and is a member of the Shadow Board of the South Tees Development Corporation, which aims to regenerate the region following the closure of the Redcar steelworks.
Chelsea Ladies’ manager Emma Hayes is appointed an MBE for services to football.
The 39-year-old was named manager of Chelsea Ladies in June 2012 and won the Women’s FA Cup and Women’s Super League double in 2015.
England Ladies assistant manager Marieanne Spacey, 50, becomes an MBE for her services to football.
Rachel Anderson, the first Fifa-licensed female football agent, is also appointed an MBE – for services to gender equality in football.
England cricketers honoured
Alastair Cook is made a CBE for his services to cricket, almost five years after he was appointed an MBE for his performances in the 2010-11 Ashes series victory in Australia.
The 31-year-old became the youngest player to reach 10,000 Test runs during the second Test against Sri Lanka in Durham in May.
He was appointed captain of the England Test team in 2012 following Andrew Strauss’ retirement and led England to Ashes series wins over Australia in 2013 and 2015.
Cook’s international team-mate Stuart Broad is made an MBE for services to cricket.
In January, he became the first England player for 11 years to top the International Cricket Council’s Test bowling rankings, before being dislodged by new-ball partner James Anderson in May.
Broad, 29, took 8-15 as Australia were bowled out for 60 in their first innings of the fourth Ashes Test at Trent Bridge last year to set up England’s series victory.
Welsh rugby figures feature
Welsh Rugby Union president Dennis Gethin is made an OBE for services to rugby in his homeland.
Gethin, 72, was awarded two rugby Blues at Cambridge in 1965 and 1966 and played club rugby for Swansea, Neath, Cardiff, and Glamorgan Wanderers. He was been president of the WRU since 2007.
Rugby referee Nigel Owens is appointed an MBE for services to sport.
The Welshman, 44, refereed the 2015 Rugby World Cup final in England, and has officiated in a record five European Rugby Champions Cup finals.
Davis Cup stars made OBEs
Leon Smith and Jamie Murray have been honoured after Great Britain won the Davis Cup for the first time since 1936.
Captain Smith, who guided Britain from the third tier to the title in five years, is made an OBE for his services to tennis.
Murray, older brother of British number one Andy Murray, is appointed an OBE for his services to tennis and charity.
The 30-year-old won the men’s doubles title at the Australian Open with Bruno Soares, and became doubles world number one in April 2016.
Murray and Colombian wife Alejandra are high-profile supporters of the charity Children Change Colombia, which works to protect children in Colombia from sexual exploitation.
The two-time Grand Slam winner said he only discovered a letter informing him of the award buried in the post after returning from a lengthy spell on tour.
“For some reason I just knew straight away what it was going to be,” he told BBC Sport.
“It’s a real honour to receive it and I’m really proud of what we’ve achieved over the past year, especially the Davis Cup. It was a huge thing for the team and the country.”
Paralympian honoured
Martine Wiltshire nee Wright, who lost her legs in the 7/7 London bombings in 2005 and went on to represent Great Britain at sitting volleyball at the London 2012 Paralympics, is made an MBE for her services to sport.
Claire Williams, deputy team principal of Formula 1 team Williams Martini Racing and daughter of team principal Frank, is appointed an OBE for her services to Formula 1.
“To be able to play a role in a family legacy is an enormous privilege,” she said. “Formula One, and Williams, are great success stories for the UK and I will continue to use my role to help showcase what a great sport Formula One is, what a brilliant platform for this country’s expertise in high class engineering it is.”
Former jockey Hayley Turner, who retired last year after riding 763 winners in a 15-year career, is made an OBE for services to horseracing.
“When you’re riding and you’re in the bubble, you don’t realise or appreciate what you’ve done until you stop,” she said.
“It’s only now it’s sinking in. I think the further away I get from the career that was, I’m going to appreciate it more and more.
“Three or four of the times I rode winners for [the Queen] she was there, so I’ve been very lucky.”
There are also MBEs for UK Anti-Doping’s Richard Driscoll, and Anna Kessel, the sports journalist and co-founder of Women in Football.
All the sporting honours
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire (CBE):
Alan Shearer OBE, for charitable services to the community in North East England; Alastair Cook MBE, for services to cricket.
Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBE):
Jamie Murray, for services to tennis and charity; Leon Smith, for services to tennis; Steve Gibson, for services to the economy, sport and community on Teesside; Dennis Gethin, for services to Welsh rugby; Hayley Turner, for services to horseracing; Claire Williams, for services to Formula 1 Racing.
Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE):
Stuart Broad, for services to cricket; Nigel Owens, for services to sport; Emma Hayes, for services to football; Rachel Anderson, for services to gender equality in football; Richard Driscoll, for services to anti-doping in sport; Martine Wiltshire, for services to sport; Anna Kessel, for services to journalism and women’s sport; Marieanne Spacey, for services to football.
