Knighthood has ever been a prestigious and recognized prefix to be added before anyone’s name, in fact, this is possibly the oldest way to acknowledge the contribution of any master of any field. Among other probables, Andy Murray and David Beckham were heavily linked in to be honored in the New Year’s top honors, but unfortunately, none of them could make it finally. Achievements wise, 26-year-old Murray became the first Briton in the last 77 years to win Wimbledon’s single title along with winning Sports Personality of the Year 2013 title, in fact, his name was also referred by British Prime minister for his distinguished feat while 38-year-old former England’s national soccer team’s captain Beckham is a well-known name for his contribution to the game of football throughout his long running career that spanned across two decades which includes playing a key role in London 2012 Olympics. Murray and Beckham both were made OBE back in 2013 and 2003 respectively and have been in the media for some time for their chances to make to the final list.
According to the procedure, initial list of probables, who should be given the honor, is being chosen by the members of public and then this initial list is sent to a committee who decides who should be nominated as the finalist and in which category, and finally, their names are furthered to the Prime Minister and then to the Queen for final announcement. Among soccer notables, after Beckham, David Bernstein – former Football Association chairman – has been named as the CBE; he said over his recognition, “I think this honour relates to all my 20 years in football and I am really delighted. I had 10 years at Manchester City and it was a fantastic period to be involved at a key moment in its history, getting the club back on its feet and organising the deal for the new stadium. It was then enormously satisfying to be involved with Wembley through its construction phase to see it become the greatest stadium in the world.”
Among other noted front-runners, Karren Brady, West Ham vice-chairman, has been named as the CBE for his contribution to soccer along with Rachel Yankey, the most capped English women’s footballer who is also named as OBE. Anyway, fans are happy to see Beckham in the list of probables and hopeful he will make it in the next year. Though, at the moment, Beckham has not stated his comments over the issue.