South African Rugby World Cup winners head list of contenders

Australian Cricket Team bid for their second Laureus Award

Boston Red Sox, Ferrari and German Women’s football team among hopefuls Laureus World Sports Awards qualifying year ends December 31, 2007

* * *

A spectacular year of team sport, incorporating several thrilling world championships, has set up one of the most exciting contests ever for the 2008 Laureus World Team of the Year Award.

The highlight of an exciting autumn was the invincible South African Rugby Team’s brilliant victory in the Rugby World Cup in France in October. It was the second Rugby World Cup win for the Springboks, who went through the tournament unbeaten.

A month earlier the German Women’s Football Team became the first side ever to retain the FIFA Women’s World Cup beating Brazil 2-0 in the final in Shanghai.

The Australian Men’s Cricket Team, who won the Laureus Team Award in 2002, set the early pace with their victory in the Cricket World Cup in the West Indies in April, a result which confirmed their status as the world’s No 1 cricket team.

Italian motor racing team Ferrari dramatically beat all the odds to clinch the Formula One World Championship for their driver Kimi Raikkonen in the very last race of the season in Sao Paulo.

In the United States, Boston Red Sox confirmed they were the world’s dominant baseball team with their second World Series win in four years, a 4-0 whitewash against Colorado Rockies.

The Laureus World Sports Awards, which recognise sporting achievement during the period February 1, 2007 – December 31, 2007, are recognised as the premier honours on the international sporting calendar. The names of the nominees will be announced in the New Year and the winners, as voted by the Laureus World Sports Academy, will be unveiled during a televised Awards Ceremony.

In addition to the German women’s team, football provides two other serious contenders at club and country level – Italian club Milan beat Liverpool in May to win the European Champions League, while Brazil won their eighth Copa America when they beat Argentina 3-0 in the final.

American basketball team San Antonio Spurs will be strong contenders again after winning the NBA Championship. Their victory gave them the highest winning percentage in NBA Finals history. They have only missed the play-offs four times as an NBA franchise.

Among the other contenders are Swiss yacht Alinghi which successfully defended the America’s Cup, which it first won in 2003, with victory at Valencia, Spain.

In rugby, London Wasps won the Heineken European Cup, while South Africa club Pretoria Blue Bulls won the Southern Hemisphere Super 14.

The India Cricket Team won the first World Twenty20 Championship in 2007, with a team which contained Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble.

There is a two-part voting process to find the winners of the Laureus World Sports Awards. Firstly, a Selection Panel of the world’s leading sports editors, writers and broadcasters from over 120 countries votes to create a shortlist of six nominations in various categories including Laureus World Sportsman of the Year, Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year, Laureus World Team of the Year and Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year.

The members of the Laureus World Sports Academy then vote by secret ballot to select the Award winners. The Laureus Academy is the ultimate sports jury, made up of 43 of the greatest sportsmen and sportswomen of all time, who have made an outstanding contribution to world sport.

The Laureus Academy members also vote for the Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability and the Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year, the nominations for which are made by specialist panels.

The 2007 Awards Ceremony, held in the presence of His Majesty The King of Spain, was attended by global figures from sport, entertainment, business and fashion. In addition to members of the Laureus World Sports Academy, among the guests present were Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman and popular stars Elisha Cuthbert, Cuba Gooding Jr, Eva Longoria, Kyle MacLachlan and Valeria Mazza.