I would like to think it has been a positive year for sport. You have had the continued rise of women’s football, not only in Britain but across the world. 

 

We have also had Tyson Fury, the Leicester City youngsters and another attempt by Ched Evans to weasel his way back into football but the less said about those the better.

 

Today should be about celebrating those that have made a positive difference to their respective games and there is no better place to start than those that took part in the World Cup in Canada over the summer.

 

The tournament went to great lengths toward changing people’s perceptions of the game and showed those foolish enough to think that women can’t play that not only can they pass a ball to each other, they can play a very attractive brand of football that would leave some men’s teams envious.

 

Over here, England’s World Cup heroics and the rise of the Women’s Super League has been my biggest positive. Attendances in the league rose, BT Sport showed a few live games and I was privileged enough to attend the first women’s FA Cup final at Wembley.

 

To play the next one anywhere other than Wembley would be a terrible idea and I hope that the dinosaurs at the Football Association don’t make that mistake and set the women’s game back a few years.

 

The introduction of the sexist and demeaning lingerie league should not be ignored and I hope the people protesting against it are able to get the league shut down.

 

Anyone who believes it is a positive thing for females to take part needs to reconsider their stance on the sport. Lucy Bronze and Fran Kirby are household recognised names and did it without having to strip down to kick a ball.

 

They did it through hardwork and effort and it may have taken a very long time for them to reach the stage where the average football fan knows who they are, but they got there without having to use their bodies to be noticed.

 

The women’s game deserves more coverage and players should be earning more but playing in your underwear is not the way to go about making the point.

 

Women’s sport as a whole is trending upwards and it needs to continue doing so next year. It will need plenty of help from the media and fans but it can be done.

 

There is no reason why 2016 can’t be the year where the WSL has a highlights show which isn’t on at midnight on a Sunday night and is instead given a timeslot of 9pm. That way people can actually watch it and not be forced to stumble into work on Monday morning shattered.

 

I would also like to see more female coaches manage in the women’s game. Still we have women being managed by men and idea of a woman managing Wayne Rooney and co at Manchester United is unthinkable.

 

2016 may be too soon for the WSL and other top women’s divisions to have all their clubs managed by women but the blueprint should be in place.

 

That would require the FA to try harder to promote the women’s game and lower the price for their coaching badges, which would enable not only more young women but ethnic minorities from less fortunate backgrounds to gain their qualifications and pursue a career in management or coaching.

 

The government could intervene but David Cameron helping anyone other than the wealthy will not happen and we have more chance of Emma Hayes taking over Barcelona.

 

One athlete that deserves a mention, and has done for the past few weeks, is Cam Newton. Not many people in Britain will know who Newton is. 

 

He is starting to gain prominence on social media for his dances but the Carolina Panthers quarterback should be recognised for his on the field performances and the joy he is bringing to young kids inside stadiums.

 

Newton has got a lot of stick this season for having a career season. In leading the Panthers to a 14-0 record prior to Sunday’s loss to the Atlanta Falcons, there were some journalists in the media who attempted to play down his achievements because of the colour of his skin.

 

One writer said that what Newton was doing in Carolina would be better if he was white. That was actually printed.

 

Others were pleased when the Panthers lost to the Falcons because it proved Newton wasn’t actually that good. Like they had been vindicated by what they had written over the past few months, that he was overrated and would be found out eventually.

 

Going 14 games unbeaten, 18 going back to regular season games last year, is an extremely difficult thing to do in any sport and it is disrespectful to suggest otherwise.

 

Newton is just one of only four black starting QBs in the NFL but has never received the praise he rightfully deserves. 

 

This season, NFL watchers and players have been “offended” by his touchdown dance, the “dab,” but no-one complained when a white QB celebrated by making pelvic thrusts on the sideline.

 

Or when another white QB shouted into cameras: “You like that,” repeatedly. Granted, shouting into a camera isn’t actually a bad thing but the arrogant nature in which he did so would have been a huge deal if it had been Newton asking the question.

 

A mother in attendance at one of the Panthers games in which Newton “dabbed” felt the need to write a letter of complaint to the QB, in which she said his dancing was so offensive and not suitable for her young daughter that she was forced to tell her nine-year-old to watch the cheerleaders. 

 

Yes, the women who dance in skimpy outfits in attempt to please the thousands of men in attendance.

 

Newton responded to the letter by apologising, though he hasn’t stopped dabbing and rightfully so.

 

If it’s not the dancing, it’s the arrogant attitude or the “he just bothers me” excuse.

 

After every touchdown Newton and his teammates have scored this season — and there have been plenty — he gives the football to a child sitting in the front row.

 

In one game, he argued and fought with a referee who tried to keep the ball for the next play and Newton was seen grabbing it and running off to the crowd to present a child with something they would most likely treasure for the rest of their lives.

 

Newton has never been in trouble with the police and will be hosting a show on Nickelodeon where he will be helping kids achieve their dreams.

 

This isn’t a bad role model. If anything he is the perfect athlete for a young child to look up to in a league riddled with people who take drugs, hit women and have gotten away with rape.

 

He has made the sport fun and interesting, changed the way the position is played and has put smiles on kids’ faces while remaining competitive.

 

Newton is a standout performer in 2015, not only in the NFL but in sport in general.