- Gareth Bale, Moeen Ali and Eve Muirhead are among those awarded MBEs in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.
- Bale holds the record for most goals scored by a Welsh player.
- Ali has been recognised for his contribution to cricket and British Asian sport.
- Muirhead won the gold medal at the 2008 Olympics.
The Queen’s Birthday Honours list was revealed on Wednesday. It included the names of Wales captain Gareth Bale, England all-rounder Moeen Ali, and Olympic gold medalist Eve Muirhead.
Bale received an MBE for his contributions to football and social welfare. The forward from Cardiff, who holds the record for most goals scored by a Welsh player, won 20 cups and scored more than 100 goals for Real Madrid, including three in Champions League finals.
Read more: ‘Liverpool not seeking vengeance for 2018 final’: Klopp
In April 2020, during the early stages of the coronavirus outbreak, Bale contributed almost one million euros to hospitals in Wales and Spain. He has also sponsored numerous charities in his home nation.
Ali has been given an OBE for services to cricket in appreciation of his 16 years as a professional cricketer and 225 national appearances across all formats.
Read more: Moeen Ali takes retires from Test cricket
Since he first represented England in 2014 as a Birmingham-born athlete of Pakistani descent, he has been a star for British Asian sport, an advocate for inclusion in a system plagued by charges of prejudice, and a proud ambassador of the Muslim faith.
Muirhead, a member of the British women’s curling team that won the gold medal at the 2008 Winter Olympics in Beijing, was granted an OBE.
Read more: IOC member hails Beijing Winter Olympics as “very successful”
Her teammate Jennifer Dodds, Hailey Duff, Vicky Wright, and substitute Mili Smith were all awarded MBEs.
James Milner, a midfielder for Liverpool, received an MBE, while Rio Ferdinand, a former England and Manchester United defender, received an OBE for services to sport and social welfare.
Queen’s Birthday Honours list
OBE
- Moeen Ali, for services to cricket (Birmingham).
- Richard Bevan, League Managers Association chief executive, for services to football (Hale, Cheshire).
- Luther Blissett, Sporting Memories patron, for services to football and charity (Aylesbury).
- Lora Fachie, MBE, for services to cycling (Altrincham).
- Neil Fachie, MBE, for services to cycling (Altrincham).
- Rio Ferdinand, for services to football and charity (London).
- Corrine Hall, MBE, for services to cycling (Stockport).
- Eve Muirhead, MBE, for services to curling (Stirling).
- Sean O’Loughlin, for services to rugby league (Wigan).
- Mike Summerbee, for services to football and charity (Wilmslow, Cheshire).
MBE
- Gareth Bale, for services to football and charity (Cardiff).
- Jennifer Dodds, for services to curling (Edinburgh).
- Hailey Duff, for services to curling (Forfar).
- Thomas Dyson, British Rowing Paralympic pathway chief coach, for services to Paralympic rowing (Wokingham, Berkshire).
- Gary Hall, GB Taekwondo performance director, for services to Taekwondo (Altrincham).
- Shirley McCay, for services to hockey and the community in Northern Ireland (Omagh, County Tyrone).
- Hannah Miley, for services to swimming and Women in Sport (Blackburn).
- James Milner, for services to football and charity (Mobberley, Cheshire).
- David Murdoch, British Curling team head coach, for services to curling (Stirling).
- Alan Rough, for services to football and charity in Scotland (Glasgow).
- Georgina Seccombe (Harland), Team GB chef de mission for 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, for services to Olympic sport (Canterbury).
- Mark Selby, for services to snooker and charity (Lutterworth, Leicestershire).
- Neil Simpson, para-alpine skier, for services to skiing (Banchory, Kincardineshire).
- Andrew Simpson, para-alpine skier, for services to skiing (Banchory, Kincardineshire).
- Mili Smith, for services to curling (Perth).
- Judd Trump, for services to snooker and charity (Bristol).
- Georgina Usher, British Fencing chief executive, for services to fencing (London).
- Brynmor Williams, for services to sport and charity in Wales (Cowbridge, South Glamorgan).
- Vicky Wright, for services to curling (Stirling).
BEM
- Kristine Green, Grimsby Town director, for services to football in north-east Lincolnshire (Grimsby).
- Carol Thomas, for services to football and charity (Hull).
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