Fifteen national and regional winners have been named on the shortlist to be crowned the 2023 BBC Sports Personality Unsung Hero of the Year.

This is the award celebrating the best volunteers in sport, whose work is making a real difference in communities across the UK every day.

The winner will be announced during the live show and you can find out more about all of this year's contenders on this page.

Football volunteer Mike Alden won the honour last year for the work he has done to encourage others to play by setting up Park Knowle Football Club in one of Bristol's most deprived areas.

Speaking of unsung heroes...

Elsewhere, England fell agonisingly short of producing a semi-final upset at the Rugby World Cup as eventual champions South Africa battled back to snatch victory in Paris.

Steve Borthwick's side led from the third minute and went in at half-time 12-6 ahead, but Handre Pollard kicked the match-winning penalty with three minutes remaining.

South Africa went on to clinch a record fourth Rugby World Cup title by defeating 14-man New Zealand 11-12 in the final.

In July, England's hopes of pulling off a remarkable Ashes comeback were heartbreakingly ended by rain.

A downpour at Old Trafford left the fourth Test as a draw, ensuring Australia retained the urn with England attempting to level the series from 2-0 down.

There was to be further success for Australia's cricketers to celebrate at the men's Cricket World Cup, where they stunned hosts India to be crowned champions for a record-extending sixth time.

Here's a reminder of who has won Sports Personality of the Year in recent editions.

You can see the full list of former winners over here.

The question is, who will be the next name on the list? Keep your suggestions coming in - and don't forget to include your names on any texts and WhatsApp messages!

• 2022 - Beth Mead
• 2021 - Emma Raducanu
• 2020 - Sir Lewis Hamilton
• 2019 - Ben Stokes
• 2018 - Geraint Thomas
• 2017 - Sir Mo Farah
• 2016 - Sir Andy Murray

Gold medals for Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Josh Kerr helped the British team equal their best-ever haul at a World Athletics Championships - matching the 10 won in 1993.

Johnson-Thompson's stunning second heptathlon title and Kerr's shock 1500m victory were among the standout GB performances over nine dramatic days in Budapest.

Elsewhere, rising star Keely Hodgkinson's 800m silver was her third global medal at the age of 21, while Matthew Hudson-Smith also went close to capturing gold over 400m.

In October, Lucy Charles-Barclay set a new course record as she won the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii for the first time.

Runner-up four times, she crossed the finish line in a time of eight hours 24 minutes 31 seconds.

The 30-year-old is also the first woman to lead the event from start to finish.

"It's taken me five attempts and I've finally done it," said Charles-Barclay. "I don't think it's sunk in whatsoever, but I'm just over the moon."

Image source, Getty Images

That Ryder Cup triumph came after Europe retained the Solheim Cup in dramatic circumstances in Spain.

Carlota Ciganda sensationally holed the putt that saw Europe tie 14-14 with the United States in her homeland.

It delivered a third consecutive Solheim Cup for Europe, with this the first of 18 editions to finish tied.

Europe regained the Ryder Cup in dramatic fashion in Rome in October.

Requiring four points from the final day's 12 singles matches to beat the United States, Tommy Fleetwood eventually sealed victory in the 11th game to pass the 14½ required.

Ireland's Shane Lowry went on to wrap up a 16½-11½ win as Europe's unbeaten home record stretched beyond 30 years.

Kevin Sinfield received a special BBC award last year, having raised more than £7m for charity following ex-Leeds Rhinos team-mate Rob Burrow's MND diagnosis in 2019.

Rugby league legend Burrow was honoured with the Helen Rollason Award at Sports Personality of the Year 2022, for his relentless fundraising and raising awareness of MND while battling the illness himself.

Here's the moment they received their awards together.

Ronnie O'Sullivan became the oldest-ever UK champion with victory over Ding Junhui as he claimed a record-extending eighth title in York earlier this month.

O'Sullivan's triumph arrived two days before he turned 48 - and three decades after he became the youngest player to win the UK Championship, aged 17.

O'Sullivan's remarkable longevity at the top of the game meant he eclipsed Doug Mountjoy's long-standing mark from 1988, when he won his second UK title aged 46.