England Lionesses winning Euros voted top sporting moment in past 20 years by fans

England’s Lionesses winning the Euros in 2022 has been voted the top live TV sporting moment of the past 20 years.

A poll of 2,000 sports fans found Luke Littler ‘s impressive run at the 2023 Darts World Championship at the age of 16, along with Leicester’s 2016 Premier League title win also made the top 10.

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As did Andy Murray’s Wimbledon wins in 2013 and 2016 and the England cricket team beating New Zealand to win their first World Cup in 2019.

After football (62 per cent), the favourite sports for people to watch from the comfort of their own home were tennis (33 per cent), athletics (26 per cent) and Formula 1 (25 per cent).

Cricket (23 per cent), rugby (22 per cent) and boxing (17 per cent) were the next most popular sports.

The research was commissioned by Freely, a free streaming service with live and on-demand TV and films from the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 all in one place.

It found on average, sports fans watch a whopping 172 hours of live sports on TV a year – just over one week’s continuous viewing – and chat about it with friends, colleagues and family afterwards.

Discussing iconic sporting moments with others made people realise they’d seen a small slice of history made, they get to enjoy the moment again and felt connected to the event and others.

In the last five years, 48 per cent have found themselves watching more female sport – with men slightly more likely to say this (51 per cent compared with 46 per cent of women).

Amy Rowcliffe, director at Freely, said: “The Lionesses’ Euros win was truly iconic and memorable – it fully deserves to top this list.

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BRITS’ MOST MEMORABLE LIVE SPORTING MOMENTS OF THE LAST 20 YEARS

1. England’s Lionesses winning the Euros [2022]
2. Andy Murray winning Wimbledon [2013, 2016]
3. Leicester City’s Premier League title win [2016]
4. Usain Bolt winning gold at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro [2016]
5. Jude Bellingham’s overhead kick in the last-minute vs Slovakia at Euro [2024]
6. Lewis Hamilton’s Formula 1 World Championship wins [2008, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020]
7. England cricket team beating New Zealand to win the cricket world cup [2019]
8. Liverpool’s Champions League comeback win vs Barcelona [2019]
9. Luke Littler’s impressive run at the darts world championships aged 16 [2023]
10. Lionel Messi’s Argentina winning the FIFA World Cup [2022]
11. Manchester City’s Treble winning season [2022-2023]
12. Michael Phelps creating Olympic history by winning 8 medals in Beijing (2008)
13. Arsenal’s ‘Invincibles’ go unbeaten in a Premier League season [2003-2004]
14. Serena Williams winning her 23rd Grand Slam at the Australian Open [2017]
15. Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder trilogy fights [2018, 2020, 2021]
16. Zinedine Zidane’s headbutt in the World Cup final [2006]
17. Carlos Alcaraz beating Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon [2023]
18. Luke Shaw’s goal for England against Italy at the Euro 2020 final [2021]
19. France winning the FIFA World Cup [2018]
20. Tiger Woods’ US Open victory with a broken leg and torn ACL [2008]
21. Wales’s Euro 2016 run [2016]
22. Kobe Bryant scores 81 points against Toronto Raptors [2006]
23. Conor McGregor vs Floyd Mayweather boxing match [2017]
24. Neymar’s transfer from Barcelona to PSG [2017]
25. South Africa’s 2019 World Cup win [2019]

“And watching sporting events live makes all the difference – even if your team didn’t win you feel part of something important.

“Seeing so many people watching more female sport is incredible and with the Lionesses taking top spot, it just shows how influential it has become.”

The study also found nearly four in 10 (36 per cent) would like to watch more live sports on TV.

And nearly eight in 10 said it’s important large sporting events stay free and accessible for all Brits to enjoy on TV – such as The Olympics, UEFA European Football Championships and The Wimbledon Tennis Championships.

Those polled felt iconic sporting moments are made when an underdog wins (31 per cent), it’s a record-breaking achievement (29 per cent) and it’s of historical significance (28 per cent).

With 72 per cent saying sports commentary is key in the making of these legendary occasions, according to the OnePoll.com figures.

When it came to the variety of sports watched, the average is two a week – but those age 25 to 34 watch the biggest mix overall with 18 per cent of them enjoying four different sports weekly.

More than half (54 per cent) reported being open to watching different types of sports on TV, as nearly a third (30 per cent) have been inspired to play a sport after watching an iconic sporting moment on telly.

Reasons for staying at home to enjoy sports on TV are not having to travel to watch it, enjoying it with their own food and snacks on tap and just being with their friends and family.

Close to seven in 10 (69 per cent) feel it’s important to watch iconic sporting moments as they happen – and 59 per cent said this was for the added excitement of not knowing the result.

Amy Rowcliffe of Freely added: “People love watching live sporting events on TV and agree they should stay free for everyone and we have been spoilt this Summer with some incredible live sport.

“As many of us watched the Euros a few weeks ago, we all celebrated and commiserated together, taking comfort in the fact that we could crowd around the TV at the pub, or our homes and share the highs and lows with our friends, neighbours and colleagues.”

She added: “There’s something so special about discussing a moment you saw live with a friend or colleague and as these survey results show, people truly feel that they are witnessing history, which is something we’ll all be able to enjoy while watching the Paris Olympics over the next couple of weeks.

“Having the best sporting moments available all in one place and for free means that you won’t have to miss a moment.
“It’s extremely important to make sure live sports on TV stay free and easily accessible to everyone.”