Rugby league legends Rob Burrow & Kevin Sinfield named in King’s New Year Honours list
Kevin Sinfield with his good friend and former team-mate Rob Burrow - Alamy
Rob Burrow and Kevin Sinfield have both been awarded CBE’s in King Charles III’s New Year Honours list, with plans to receive the honours together.
The pair both received MBE’s in 2021 in recognition of their work representing the Motor Neurone Disease community, but were unable to have a ‘joint investiture’ – the formal receipt of the honour – following Burrow being taken ill.
Both are certified heroes to both rugby league fans and the MND community, with Burrow diagnosed with the disease in December 2019 and fighting against it ever since.
Sinfield meanwhile – who was actually first awarded an MBE back in 2014 in recognition of his outstanding playing career – has taken on numerous superhuman challenges to fundraise for Burrow and the MND community since his former Leeds Rhinos’ team-mates diagnosis.
The latest of which earlier this month saw Sinfield and his team run seven ultramarathons in seven days across seven different cities in the UK and Ireland – the 7 in 7 in 7 challenge.
Each day, they ran the equivalent of a marathon and then an extra mile, to encourage people to go the extra mile to support their friends in need, raising over £1 million.
That money was split between the MND Association, the Leeds Hospitals Charity, the Irish MND Foundation, The Darby Rimmer MND Foundation and the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation.
With more than £8 million now raised in total, the Rob Burrow Centre for MND in Leeds will be built, providing a homely place for those fighting against the disease and their loved ones to go to.
Rugby league legends Rob Burrow & Kevin Sinfield named in King’s New Year Honours list
The Honours list is released twice annually, once on the King’s official birthday and once just prior to the New Year.
This is just a second New Year’s edition signed off by King Charles III. This time last year, there were 1,107 recipients on the main list including Lionesses captain Leah Williamson (OBE) and comedian Frank Skinner (MBE).
As below, the commonly awarded ranks are:
- Companion of Honour – Limited to 65 people. Recipients wear the initials CH after their name
- Knight or Dame
- CBE – Commander of the Order of the British Empire
- OBE – Officer of the Order of the British Empire
- MBE – Member of the Order of the British Empire
- BEM – British Empire Medal