Make the best use of your Christmas season by testing your sporting knowledge of the past 12 months

It's been a huge year for British sport: the Lionesses roared to victory in the Euros this summer, the Red Roses won the Women's Rugby World Cup and Lando Norris won Formula 1 drivers' championship.   In such a record-breaking year across the sports, who deserves to be crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year? This year's contenders are: Hannah Hampton, Chloe Kelly, Ellie Kildunne, Luke Littler, Rory McIlroy and Lando Norris.   Andrew Butler is joined by The Observer's Assistant Sports Editor Jess Hayden, alongside sports reporters Jessy Parker Humphreys and George Simms, as they go head-to-head to debate who deserves to take home SPOTY.   Vote for who you think should win here: https://www.smartsurvey.com/t/observersport/    **We want to hear what you think! Email us at: newsmeeting@observer.co.uk  Follow us on Social Media:  @ObserverUK on X  @theobserveruk on Instagram and TikTok @theobserveruk.bsky.social‬ on bluesky    Host: Andrew Butler   Producer: Amalie Sortland   Executive Producer: Rebecca Moore   To find out more about The Observer:   Subscribe to TheObserver+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content Head to our website observer.co.uk  Download the Observer app – for a listening experience curated by our journalists  

These are moments to cherish, and these are moments to reflect on what we have

Will the next men's football World Cup be the most politically tense in history? Did we learn anything from the latest round of peace talks between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump's envoys? Is overdiagnosis of conditions like Autism and ADHD leading to worse outcomes for neurodiverse people?   Rebecca Moore is joined by The Observer's Ideas and Comment Editor Alex O'Connell, Deputy Sports Editor Andrew Butler, and journalist and author Julia Ioffe as they battle it out to pitch the top stories of the day.    Buy Julia Ioffe's book from the Observer Bookshop: Motherland   **We want to hear what you think! Email us at: newsmeeting@observer.co.uk  Follow us on Social Media:  @ObserverUK on X  @theobserveruk on Instagram and TikTok @theobserveruk.bsky.social‬ on bluesky    Host: Rebecca Moore   Producer: Poppy Bullard   Executive Producer: Matt Russell   To find out more about The Observer:   Subscribe to TheObserver+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content Head to our website observer.co.uk  Download the Tortoise app – for a listening experience curated by our journalists  

Long gone are the days of a five-hour round as new format of the sport increases in popularity

Why are so many prisoners being released from prison by mistake? What happens if Arts Council England goes under? And what can the Democrats learn from Mamdani's New York City mayoral election victory? Rebecca Moore is joined by The Observer's Deputy Sports Editor, Andrew Butler, Arts and Media Editor, Vanessa Thorpe, and reporter Jon Ungoed-Thomas as they pitch their top stories of the day. Must Reads: Days of wine and noses: the life of a critic: https://observer.co.uk/style/food/article/days-of-wine-and-noses-the-life-of-a-critic **We want to hear what you think! Email us at: newsmeeting@observer.co.uk  Follow us on Social Media:  @ObserverUK on X  @theobserveruk on Instagram and TikTok @theobserveruk.bsky.social‬ on bluesky  Host: Rebecca Moore Producer: Amalie Sortland Executive Producers: Matt Russell and Poppy Bullard To find out more about The Observer: Subscribe to TheObserver+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content Head to our website observer.co.uk  Download the Tortoise app – for a listening experience curated by our journalists

The musician’s third album claimed music’s prestigious honour, rooted in the power of his biographical lyrics

A new wave of influencers are urging their followers to go outside in the hottest part of the day, skip SPF and even lie on towels that attract sunlight

New figures show there have been 326 reports, up from 168 at this point in the 2024-25 season

Is the UK's decision to conditionally recognise the state of Palestine more symbolic than practical? As protests in Epping continue, how is rhetoric around asylum seekers impacting children from ethnic minority backgrounds? Now that the Lionesses have won the Euros for a second time, is this confirmation that the hard work put into the women's game has paid off?   Giles Whittell is joined by ITV News Presenter and Loose Women panellist Charlene White. Plus, the Observer's narrative editor Chloe Hadjimatheou and Deputy Sports Editor, Andrew Butler.  

The first promotion/relegation play-off match since 1988 will draw the current WSL format to a mouthwatering crescendo

Why did Bradley Wiggins seek advice from disgraced former cyclist Lance Armstrong to help him recover from cocaine addiction?What does the indictment of a US judge tell us about President Trump’s plans to take on the judiciary? How is a law from the 1800s being used to criminalise women who have abortions in 2025? Jess Winch is joined by Marie Le Conte, Rowan Moore and Andrew Butler, as they battle to pitch the top story of the day.

Sport is being reinvented for the digital age. In a special report, we explore how they are coping with the change.

In a new book, the former Crystal Palace player discusses his turnaround from jailed footballer to educator

For his entire career, new snooker world champion Zhao Xintong will be attached to his 20-month ban on match fixing charges. Whether or not it becomes the headline or a footnote is dependent on his future success.