Sports fans are in for a treat over the festive season with stockings full of fantastic shows and sleighs packed with the best sporting moments from 2014.
It has been another memorable sporting year with a healthy dose of highs and lows across the board, including an incredible World Cup in Brazil, sensational achievement in Sochi for Team GB at the Winter Olympics and Paralympics, and Glasgow’s sensational staging of the most successful Commonwealth Games ever.
The past 12 months has served up a real collection of sporting gems as the history books were rewritten time and time again, including Rory McIlroy’s outstanding year on the golf course, Lewis Hamilton’s Formula 1 World Championship triumph, and England’s success at the Women’s Rugby World Cup in France.
It has been a thoroughly entertaining sport year and viewers can look forward to a real festive treat this Christmas with a stellar range of special features and review programmes.
These all complement extensive coverage of the usual festive fare such as Premier League and FA Cup football, Premiership and Pro12 rugby union, top class National Hunt horse racing and the PDC World Darts Championship at Ally Pally.
Scroll down for SOTB’s comprehensive TV guide to all the must-see Christmas specials over the festive period.
. .| TUESDAY 23rd DECEMBER |
| Ringside Review of the Year BOXING | 19:00 |
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Christmas is coming so kick off the festive feel with a look back at the year in Boxing with the Sky Sports Ringside team.
Adam Smith and Johnny Nelson are your hosts and they are joined by three of the Sky boxing team who will give fans their take on what we’ve have seen in 2014 and what they want to see next year.
Glenn McCrory has been ringside for some of the biggest fights of the year, Spencer Oliver has been part of the build-ups and Ed Robinson is our social media guru and presenter.
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| The Supporters Club Review of 2014 CHARITY | 20:30 |
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The latest film from The Supporters Club celebrates what’s been made possible thanks to donations from BT Sport customers.
Through the eyes of five famous sporting names – Joe Calzaghe, Gilberto Silva, Alan Stubbs, Brian O’Driscoll and Louise Hazel, the film looks back on the young people whose lives have been changed through sport.
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| CHRISTMAS EVE |
| British Superbikes 2014 Season Review MOTORSPORT | 16:00 |
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Former superbike rider James Whitham presents a look back at the 2014 BSB season, which featured 12 pulsating rounds across the UK starting and ending at Brands Hatch.
Ryuichi Kiyonari and Shane Byrne were fierce rivals for much of the campaign at the top of the standings, which saw Kawasaki, Yamaha and BMW all able to produce competitive bikes.
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| Ultimate Premier League #one2eleven FOOTBALL | 18:00 |
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The Soccer Saturday panel pick their Ultimate Premier League #One2Eleven on a special show on Christmas Eve.
Paul Merson, Matt Le Tissier, Charlie Nicholas and Phil Thompson set out to answer one of the biggest debates in football – and make some interesting selections.
The Premier League has seen some of the world’s best take part year after year, and our pundits have been tasked with picking an ultimate XI which would be utterly invincible.
With over 3,500 players to choose from, it’s no mean feat, but the panel have seen plenty of football during their time in the Soccer Saturday studio, so they should have an idea of how their team would line up, or so you would think.
With debates from shot-stoppers to goalscorers, battling midfielders to skilful playmakers, the guys have a tough time coming to a unanimous decision.
#One2eleven will be followed at 7.00pm on Sky Sports 1 with a special programme looking back the best moments from Sky’s flagship Gillette Soccer Saturday since it started in its current format back in 1998.
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| CHRISTMAS DAY |
| Soccer AM Christmas Special FOOTBALL | 10:00 |
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There will be guests and games galore to round off your Christmas morning in a bumper edition of Soccer AM on Sky Sports.
Max Rushden and Helen Chamberlain are on the sofa to look back at another fantastic year of football, with a few laughs along the way.
They will look back at some of the highlights of the year, including a special Christmas Showboat, the best of this year’s guests and 2014’s best goals.
Peter Crouch, Jimmy Bullard Neil Ruddock and Adebayo Akinfenwa will be dropping in to look back at the year, so kick back and let Soccer AM take care of things until lunchtime for a couple of fun-filled two hours.
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| Review 2014: The Year in Sport GENERAL | 12:30 |
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BBC News takes a look back through the year’s sporting highlights in a special half-hour programme on Christmas Day.
Tim Hague and Katie Gornall review the World Cup in Brazil, the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and Lewis Hamilton’s F1 triumph.
On Christmas Eve, Patrick Geary presents a special review dedicated to the World Cup, with Brazilian Summer airing at 10.30pm.
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| Clare Balding meets Ferguson & Mourinho FOOTBALL | 15:30 |
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In a double-header of exclusive interviews, award-winning broadcaster Clare Balding chats to two of the biggest names in football.
First up at 3.30pm is former Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson, one of the greatest managers to grace the game.
This will be followed at 4.00pm with an hour-long special focussing on Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho, whose amazing success includes titles in Portugal, Italy, Spain and England.
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| Roaring Back: McIlroy’s 2014 GOLF | 20:30 |
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Re-live one of the greatest comeback years in golf as Sky Sports reflects on a remarkable 12 months for Rory McIlroy.
A wretched 2013 season prompted questions over McIlroy’s controversial equipment change, his mindset and his ability to haul himself back into the world’s top 10.
But he answered all those questions in emphatic style, doubling his tally of major championship titles and winning five times overall as he ended the year as the undisputed world No 1.
Roaring Back charts McIlroy’s progress throughout 2014, which started with a couple of near-misses in Abu Dhabi in Dubai before he came within a whisker of capturing the Honda Classic title after one of the shots of the year at the 72nd hole.
A first Open Championship victory, a first World Golf Championship title and his second PGA Championship success made sure Rory firmly established himself at the top of the world, and the 25-year-old then played a pivotal role in Europe retaining the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles.
World No 1, European No 1, PGA Tour and European Tour Player of the Year; the list of accolades just keeps on growing and, as he heads into 2015 full of optimism, McIlroy himself declared: “This is just the start”.
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| BOXING DAY |
| Huw Llywelyn Davies: Tu ôl i’r Meic RUGBY UNION | 20:25 |
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Huw Llywelyn Davies has been a familiar voice on rugby broadcasts for three and a half decades and the close of last season marked the end of an era for rugby viewers and listeners in Wales.
Over his long career working on over 300 international matches and thousands of club games, the commentator has seen the good and the bad in the world of Welsh rugby.
As well as commentating, he has worked on a variety of other programmes on radio as well as television, including coverage from the National Eisteddfod of Wales and the hymns and worship series Dechrau Canu Dechrau Canmol.
In an honest and comprehensive portrayal, the programme traces Huw’s sparkling career and gives a unique insight into the man behind the mic.
From celebrations on the pitches to family tragedies, we hear the full story of the voice of rugby in Wales.
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| The Crazy Gang FOOTBALL | 21:00 |
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BT Sport’s new documentary on the story of Wimbledon FC in the 1980’s premieres on Boxing Day at 9.00pm.
The film features in-depth interviews with the likes of Vinnie Jones, Dennis Wise, Lawrie Sanchez, John Fashanu, Dave Beasant, Bobby Gould and other members of the notorious Wimbledon side, where a hard-man, win-at-all-costs attitude prevailed as the club rose from non-league obscurity to FA Cup winners in less than ten years and left an unrivalled mark in the history of British sport.
The Crazy Gang brings to life the high-jinks and at-times despised nature of the team who were an anathema to the established world of football where star players, football officials and the media found out that the Crazy Gang were not to be messed with. As this feature-length documentary will reveal, Wimbledon were the team that everyone loved to hate.
It is a never-to-be-repeated football story of nomads and misfits who found a family, no matter how harsh the environment, and in doing so found themselves.
As Jones says in the film: “We were a lot of misfits. A lot of throw-outs. A lot of not-wanteds. You either grew a backbone very quickly or you dissolved as a man.”
The film will be available for anyone to watch – even if you’re not a BT Sport subscriber – on Friday 26 December at 9pm via the BT Sport website. Viewers will simply need to visit the BT Sport website and follow the link on the home page.
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| SATURDAY 27th DECEMBER |
| Lewis Hamilton: Duel of the Silver Arrows MOTORSPORT | 13:00 |
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Suzi Perry and BBC Sport’s expert analysts Eddie Jordan and David Coulthard reflect on the 2014 Formula 1 season, in which Lewis Hamilton claimed his second drivers’ world title.
The focus of this year’s review will be on the thrilling battle between title rivals and Mercedes teammates Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.
The year also saw an encouraging return to form for the Williams team, but it proved a disappointing campaign for four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel, who was outshone by his Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo.
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| Sport Relief 2014: The Final Score CHARITY | 14:10 |
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Sport Relief 2014 was the biggest and best ever, raising over £71.8 million.
Gary Lineker presents this one-hour celebration of the best moments from the Sport Relief weekend.
In addition, presenters Davina McCall, David Tennant and Alex Jones take a look at how the money you raised has helped people both here in the UK and around the world.
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Tuesday 23rd December
Ringside Season Review
7.00pm-8.00pm Sky Sports 1
Supporters Club Review of 2014
8.30pm-9.00pm BT Sport 1
Christmas Eve Torvill and Dean: The Perfect Day (rpt) 12.35pm-1.35pm BBC Two British Superbike Championship: 2014 Review Show 4.00pm-6.00pm ITV4 Ultimate Premier League #one2eleven 6.00pm-7.00pm Sky Sports 1 Best of Gillette Soccer Saturday 7.00pm-8.30pm Sky Sports 1 Review 2014: Brazilian Summer 10.30pm-11.00pm BBC News
Christmas Day Soccer AM Christmas Special 10.00am-12.00pm Sky Sports 1 / Sky 1 Greatest Goals of 2014 12.00pm-1.00pm Sky Sports 1 Review 2014: The Year in Sport 12.30pm-1.00pm BBC News Clare Balding Meets Sir Alex Ferguson 3.30pm-4.00pm BT Sport 1 Clare Balding Meets Jose Mourinho 4.00pm-5.00pm BT Sport 1 Tour de France 2014 Review 6.00pm-7.30pm British Eurosport Roaring Back: McIlroy’s 2014 8.30pm-9.30pm Sky Sports 4 Lewis Hamilton: A Champion’s Story (rpt) 9.00pm-10.00pm Sky Sports 1
Boxing Day Welsh Sports Review 2014 (rpt) 12.55pm-1.55pm BBC Two Wales The Big Start: Northern Ireland’s Giro Journey 5.25pm-6.05pm BBC Two NI World Cup: Semi Final & Final Highlights 5.25pm-6.35pm BBC Red Button Huw Llywelyn Davies: Tu ôl i’r Meic 8.25pm-9.30pm S4C BT Sport Films: The Crazy Gang 9.00pm-10.30pm BT Sport 1 Rugby Club Christmas Special 9.30pm-10.00pm Sky Sports 4
Saturday 27th December World Cup Semi Final Replay: Brazil v Germany 12.50pm-2.50pm BBC Red Button Lewis Hamilton: Duel of the Silver Arrows 1.00pm-2.10pm BBC One Sport Relief 2014: The Final Score 2.10pm-3.10pm BBC One World Cup Final Replay: Germany v Argentina 2.50pm-4.50pm BBC Red Button How The 2014 Ryder Cup Was Won (rpt) 3.00pm-5.00pm Sky Sports 4
Sunday 28th December Winter Olympics: Jenny Jones & Lizzy Yarnold 9.30am-10.30am BBC Red Button Commonwealth Games Review 10.30am-11.30am BBC Red Button Ryder Cup: Final Day 11.30am-1.30pm BBC Red Button Swanny Goes for a Spin 5.30pm-6.30pm BT Sport 1 When the Games Came to Glasgow 6.00pm-7.00pm BBC One Scotland Racing Legends: Barry Sheene 9.05pm-10.05pm BBC Two Sport XIV: Review of 2014 10.05pm-10.35pm BBC Two Scotland
Monday 29th December British Touring Car Championship: 2014 Review (rpt) 12.00pm-2.05pm ITV4 Ringside: Greatest Knockouts of 2014 11.00pm-11.30pm Sky Sports 1
Wednesday 31st December FA Cup’s 50 Greatest Goals 9.00pm-11.00pm BBC Three
Friday 2nd January A Question of Sport: FA Cup Special 7.30pm-8.00pm BBC One
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