It's that time of the year again, when our thoughts turn to who should be on the receiving end of the Sports Personality award for their achievements over the past 12 months.

I am currently pondering who should get my vote. Unlike 2012, when we were spoiled for choice, it has not been a great vintage year for British women, though Christine Ohuruogu's reclamation of the world 400 metres title, again deserves a place on the BBC short list, alongside cycling's double track world champion Becky James.

So the gong almost certainly will go to a man. My choice for the top spot would be between Britain's outstandingly heroic trio of 2013.

Andy Murray looks a natural people's champion as the nation's first Wimbledon men's singles winner in living memory.

Then there's Chris Froome, who succeeded last year's SPOTY winner Sir Bradley Wiggins by bringing home the yellow jersey in the Tour de France - although he's really about as English as most of our Test cricket team.

Could Chris Froome take the SPOTY title after bringing home the yellow
jersey in the Tour de France?


But I could be easily persuaded that a knight of the waves deserves the nod - Sir Ben Ainslie, whose seamanship, albeit for Team USA, almost single-handedly inspired his outclassed team (8-1 down to New Zealand) to victory in the America's Cup, the world's oldest and most prestigious yacht race.

His call-up and subsequent expertise brought about one of the most unbelievable of sporting comebacks, an accomplishment that, allied to his golden exploits at the London 2012 Olympics, encouraged one sage of the seas to label him the greatest British sailor since Nelson.

For, me it comes down to Murray v Ainslie, with my present scoring standing at Advantage Ben.

I think Sir Ben Ainslie deserves the Sports Personality of the Year nod


But haven't you overlooked Mo Farah, some may ask? Isn't his double World Championship gold just as worthy-if not more so. Maybe. But not for me.

My admiration for him as an athlete is unstinted, but he will not get my vote this year.

This is because of his admitted reluctance to commit himself to next year's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. He suggests it is likely that instead he will concentrate on running the London Marathon.

This is his prerogative, of course. But I find it hugely disappointing that he may prefer to be amply-rewarded for padding the byways of London to pocketing a gold medal or two for England in Glasgow's Hampden Park.

If Mo's 2014 mindset is the marathon, why not make it that in the Commonwealth Games? Surely, it is not because Glasgow's streets aren't paved with hard cash?

This disappointment, and some anger, is shared among those planning the Games.

It is hugely disappointing that Mo Farah will not commit himself to next year's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow


Despite an understandable reluctance to criticise such a national icon, a senior figure close to the Games organisation told insidethegames that if the double Olympic and world 5,000 and 10,000m champion is a no-show it would be perceived as "a bit of a snub".

The source added: "Glasgow has a lot riding on the Commonwealth Games and it would be a significant blow if someone considered Britain's finest athlete declined to take part for any reason other than illness or injury."

Glasgow's dismay will extend to the Commonwealth Games Federation and also to Team England, who are hoping to unveil a top quality squad for what is considered the most prestigious multi-sports event outside the Olympics.

The Somalia-born Farah, 30, who declared he was "proud to be British" during the "England for the English" controversy engendered by footballer Jack Wilshere, says his priority next year is to focus on the London Marathon in April - for which he is likely to receive a substantial fee - and that while the Commonwealth Games, in which he has never won a medal - he finished ninth in the 5,000m at Melbourne 2006 and withdrew from Delhi 2010 citing "fatigue" - would be a bonus, "it is not on my list."

He adds he will need to see whether his body can recover in time for an event that takes place three months later.

I accept that Farah has done much for his adopted country, although he now trains and largely lives in the United States. But his homeland has also done much for him, and I believe he should be making an England vest a priority in Glasgow rather than becoming a Marathon man in London.

Anyway, could he not do both? I am no sports scientist but I know a man who is, and he tells me that 13 weeks rest between the respective events should be sufficient for an athlete of Farah's calibre to compete in the marathon and also in one if not both, distance races at the Commonwealth Games.

It is not good news for Glasgow, where the prospective e absence of Farah is compounded by the possibility that his global co-star in the sport, Usain Bolt, also may miss the Games - as indeed might half the Jamaican team should the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) decide that the country's anti-doping procedures are not up to scratch.

Bolt has yet to confirm his presence, saying he is "not 100 per cent sure" he will be there.

Sir Chris Hoy won't be competing at Glasgow 2014 since he has retired


Scotland's number one sporting hero, six-time Olympic cycling gold medallist Sir Chris Hoy also misses them, having announced his retirement, and their other laird of the Olympic Rings, Murray, won't be on court either as tennis is not among the 17 sports being contested.

However, with a budget of £524 million ($837 million/€618 million) Games organisers are confident there will they will be no lack of glitter and predict a huge success, with 2.3 million applications for the one million available tickets to watch some 6,500 athletes from 70 countries competing in the 17 sports over 11 days, from July 23 to August 3.

And with a projected global television audience of two billion, the Scottish Government will want the best names at the party not least because of their huge political significance. Just over a month after the Closing Ceremony Scotland will decide if they want independence from the United Kingdom.

So it will be seriously sad for Scotland, as well as England, if Britain's most prestigious sporting showpiece after the Olympics becomes the Mobot no-show.

Alan Hubbard is a sports columnist for The Independent on Sunday, and a former sports editor of The Observer. He has covered a total of 16 Summer and Winter Games, 10 Commonwealth Games, several football World Cups and world title fights from Atlanta to Zaire.