Inter Services glory and Paralympic gold: Relive 2024's top forces sporting moments
From the sporting theatre of the Army v Navy game to the world's biggest sporting stage in Paris, 2024 was a year of sporting triumphs for all serving athletes.
As the turn of the year approaches, this is a perfect time to reflect on what has made 2024 such a memorable year for forces sport.
We take a look back at the stand-out performances and the unforgettable military sporting moments of 2024.
1. Royal Navy football success
The Royal Navy senior men's football team wins silverware for HMS Temeraire.
2024 has been a year to remember for the Royal Navy Football Association.
Ever since Lieutenant Commander Chris James took on the role of head coach of the Royal Navy senior men's football team in 2023, he has taken the team to new heights.
It was his decision to enter the team into local civilian cups, most notably the Hampshire Senior Cup and the Portsmouth Senior Cup, for the first time.
The team took to their competition like a duck to water, sailing all the way to the quarter-finals of the Hampshire Senior Cup in their first attempt, against highly respectable clubs, losing only to Totton.
Weeks later, the senior team went on to win the Portsmouth Senior Cup, beating Gosport Borough 5-1 to win their first piece of silverware of the season.
The team's attention then turned to the Inter Services, a title they had not won in eight years but came so close the year before, and they knew they were in with a shout.
The Navy beat the Army 2-1 at home in Fratton Park, setting them up perfectly to take on the reigning champions, the RAF, who pipped them to the title last year.
A thrilling performance at Shrewsbury Town FC saw the Navy overwhelm the RAF to beat them 2-1 with a brace by Elliot Holmes, to win their first Inter Services football title since 2016.
Their achievements this season were recognised at this year's Navy Sports Awards, with the team winning Team of the Year and skipper Danny Kerr winning Sportsman of the Year.
2. Army v Navy thriller at Twickenham
Crowds at Twickenham witness one of the most thrilling Army v Navy games in history.
The biggest rivalry in military rugby union witnessed sporting pandemonium at Twickenham Stadium this year in an Army v Navy game that will be marked in future history books.
The Royal Navy snatched the Babcock Trophy in 2023, and with a strong squad at their disposal, they were tipped to potentially win it again, but not without a fight from the British Army.
In a match full of twists and turns, the Army were facing an uphill battle after finding themselves 29-5 down at half-time.
But the reds clawed their way back in the second half, and a last-ditch try by Vereimi Qorowale saw the stadium erupt as he dove over the try line.
Qorowale's effort was enough for the Army to pip the Navy to the Babcock Trophy by a single point, with the match finishing with an eye-watering 43-42.
It will have to take something very special to top that clash when the Army v Navy game returns to Twickenham once again in 2025.
3. Navy Cricket ends 14-year T20 title wait
The Royal Navy men's cricket team make history at Lord's in the Inter Services T20 Championships.
History was made at Lord's Cricket Ground this year as the Royal Navy finally got their hands on the Inter Services T20 trophy for the first time since 2010.
Their championship win came despite losing to the Royal Air Force at Lord's, but their better run rate of the three services was just enough to clinch the trophy.
That came after the Navy defeated the Army in Middleton, while the Army pipped the RAF earlier in the day at Lord's.
The RAF v Royal Navy match was the title decider, and a strong Navy batting display is what set them up for success.
Sam Hewitt hit 75 runs and a partnership with skipper Ben Johnston of 85 runs helped them to a 156/4 final score after 20 overs.
The RAF however were stacked to the rafters with batting talent.
Adam Fisher's half-century contributed to good scores from Tom Shorthouse, Ross Diver and Adam Sutcliffe, as the RAF reached their target with an over to spare.
The result however did not matter too much to the Navy, as their job earlier in the match was enough to celebrate their first Inter Services T20 win in 14 years.
4. UKAF women President's Cup triumph
The UK Armed Forces women's football team ends years of President's Cup heartbreak.
It's a trophy that had eluded the UK Armed Forces women's football team over recent years.
Karl Milgate's team have dominated their annual fixture against the Irish Defence Forces, scoring twelve goals and conceding none across two clashes. In their rivalry with the German Bundeswehr, an injury-time equaliser from now-ex Royal Navy star Ciara Boylan saved UKAF from defeat in a 1-1 draw in Aldershot in 2023.
But their battles against the Dutch Armed Forces in the President's Cup have caused heartache for the UK team.
2022 and 2023 saw penalty shootout defeats and by the time this year's fixture rolled around in the West Midlands, it had been five years since UKAF had lifted the trophy. However, on this day, they were pretty unstoppable. Pip Wilson's long-range thunderbolt set the tone in the first half and in the second period, two of military football's sharpest shooters sealed the success.
The British Army's Libby Dixon and the Navy's Jade Berrow added their names to the scoresheet and the ghosts of previous years had been banished.
It was a landmark day for the UKAF team and confirmed them as one of the leading sides in world military women’s football.
5. Golden in Paris
Military Paralympians push themselves to their limits on the biggest sporting stage in Paris.
Courage, determination, inspiration and equality are the key values that drives the Paralympic movement forward.
These key values hold much more meaning for our military Paralympians, who we’ve followed at BFBS from the first stages of traumatic injury to finding recover through sport.
Jaco van Gass, Stu Robinson and Luke Pollard have both experienced the highs and lows of the Paralympics before – with para cyclist Jaco going on to achieve more medal success in the velodrome and Luke, who guided visually impaired triathlete Dave Ellis, put behind the pair's woes from Tokyo 2020 to finally win para triathlon gold in Paris.
Stu however, a gold medallist from Tokyo, had to settle for an agonising fourth place with the GB Wheelchair Rugby team.
But this was the first games for para rowing's Gregg Stevenson, who partnered with Lauren Rowles in the PR2 mixed double sculls, and the pair went on to win gold after a thrilling race to the finish line against the pair from China.
Our Deputy Sports Editor, Cath Brazier, has followed Stevenson's sporting journey for nearly a decade:
"I first met Gregg playing golf for Team UK in the Simpson Cup and it was at a time when he was still trying to find a sport that really made him tick.
"He's a quiet unassuming man but fiercely competitive and one that talks openly about his struggles with mental health – and it took him a while, and a number of setbacks, to find para rowing where he took the world by storm with rowing partner Lauren Rowles.
"They became European, world and Paralympic champions in a very short space of time.
"When they crossed the line for gold, I must admit I had something in my eye...."
6. British Army bridges relationship with US Military rugby team
The British Army took on the US Military rugby team in Esher as a new relationship forms.
The UK and the USA have enjoyed a special relationship since World War II, but that was put on the back burner in November as the British Army men's senior team faced a US Military side in a Rugby for Remembrance fixture.
Rugby union is very much a minor sport in the US, as it wrestles for recognition alongside the age-old established sports of the NFL, baseball and the NBA.
That trend is bucked somewhat within the US military as rugby union is enjoyed by cadets at West Point, and the US Military side that briefly visited the UK in the autumn included those still serving alongside veterans.
Nearly all aspects of the US military were represented as players with Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine and Coastguard experience took to the field of play. In fact, the only branch not featured was the United States Space Force!
The USA side based themselves at RMA Sandhurst during their stay.
The Rugby for Remembrance fixture played at Esher RFC saw the British Army run out winners 44-17 with a good crowd cheering both teams on.
Organisers hope the fixture will become a regular event in the forces sporting calendar, especially as the United States is set to host the Rugby World Cup in 2031 and more exposure of the sport to a wider audience, military or civilian, will be needed to galvanise interest in the tournament in the coming years.
Join Our Newsletter
