Every sport is played for the reward, be it a golden trophy or a mixer-grinder; the prizes are a must. There are many strangest prizes that have been given out in sports. Some examples include “A full crate of beer” awarded to the man of the match of The Zimbabwean Premier League, a gigantic credit card, and even a live chicken. Some of these odd awards, whether they serve as an acknowledgment for a Man of the Match performance, Player of the Month consistency, or any other honor that recognizes excellent form, actually left us perplexed. Let’s have a look at some of those.
Top 15 Strangest Prizes given in Sports
A chicken
This Man of the Match award from Malawi was more of a local fan’s gesture of appreciation than a full-fledged trophy. Despite this, there is no denying how bizarre it is on its whole. Supporters of Nyassa Big Bullets are accustomed to rewarding their players to encourage them. Hassan Kajoke, a striker of the team, was handed a live chicken in July 2019 after leading the team to a 5-0 victory.
A jeweled dagger
Golf’s Trophée Hassan II in Morocco chooses a jeweled ceremonial dagger over a jacket or cardigan, which are prizes at the Masters and Arnold Palmer Invitational, respectively. Welshman Rhys Davis won it in 2010, but in order to get the weapon on the plane for his return voyage home, he needed a special letter of permission from the Moroccan Royal Family.
Blender
When Luke Wright was given a blender as the Man of the Match prize for his performance in the Dhaka Premier League. The cricketer for England’s post at the time had gone viral. “Pleased we won my first match for Abhanai today. Have to say I have never been given a blender for MoM before,” he tweeted.
A full crate of beer
Champagne may no longer be awarded a Man of the Match trophy in the Premier League, but other nations continue to award alcohol—and in considerable quantities, too. A whole crate of beer has occasionally been given as a reward for Man of the Match performances in the Zimbabwean Premier League, which is sponsored by Castle Lager. Not exactly the best award for a professional athlete.
A cow
Winners of alpine ski competitions frequently receive animals, but this is primarily symbolic. Up until a live calf or $5,000 offer was made to Lindsey Vonn in France’s Val d’Isère. As you would have anticipated, Vonn took the calf, much to the chagrin of the organizer. The cow was valued at $20,000, so Vonn’s decision to buy it was more than savvy.
Bat grip and shoelaces
In the opening ODI of India’s tour to Australia in 2018–19, the speedster bowled superbly. Jhye Richardson took four wickets and only conceded 26 runs. His bowling performance was immensely helpful for the Australians as they won the opening game of the three-match ODI series. Funny enough, the fast bowler received the Man of the Match award during the presentation ceremony in the form of shoelaces and a bat grip.
The India-Australia series is one of the most valuable in sports, as it is widely recognized. The trophies handed out during the series drew criticism from several former cricket players. The Indian team ultimately won the series. However, they were only granted $500, and the organizers received a lot of criticism for this.
A rice cooker
Eoin Morgan played many match-winning performances during his time in the Dhaka Premier League. The southpaw received many Player of the Match awards for his efforts. However, one such prize turned out to be a rice cooker. Morgan assumed the stove was being used as a metaphor for his terrific knock “under pressure,” which made the situation rather comical. But it turned out that one of the sponsors was the rice cooker brand.
Milk and rosewater
Indianapolis 500 victors are given a milk bottle, which they will gulp from and then pour over their heads (they even have to specify their milk preference before racing). Alcohol use is not unlawful in Bahrain, although it is not permitted outside. Therefore, Waard, a non-alcoholic rosewater beverage, is used in place of the customary victory spray at Formula 1 races.
A gigantic credit card
We have no doubt that the Kaiser Chiefs midfielder enjoyed the 2,000 South African Rand that he received from sponsors ABSA bank in April 2014 as a Man of the Match award, but we’re still not sure why the novelty credit card he was given had to be quite so big. This item would have been difficult to transport home, and using contactless payment would require at least two people to operate.
Flip Flops
A prize is a prize, but we don’t think a pair of flip-flops should ever be given out as the Man of the Match award except for the final match before the summer break. However, Ghanaian Premier League team Dreams FC decided to frequently award pairs of the infamously fragile shoes as a reward for exceptional performances via their sponsors. They don’t appear top of the line from the picture below, and the receiver appears more interested in being somewhere else than at the presentation.
A Burger King paper crown
Undoubtedly the least expensive item on this list, Franco Armani of Argentina received a paper crown from one of the fast food moguls following his outstanding River Plate performance against Danubio in March 2018. Armani was forced to give his post-game interview while wearing the crown due to sponsorship obligations, making him appear silly.
Sunshine snacks in CPL
One of the top T20 cricket competitions is the Caribbean Premier League. Since several T20 franchises worldwide had Caribbean cricketers as their main attraction, the West Indies Cricket Board decided to launch its own T20 League. Sunshine Snacks is one of the tournament’s many notable sponsors. Customers of the food companies receive nuts and chips, and they also follow this strategy with Man of the Matches. The sponsor gave players of the match award winners a snack basket, which was hilarious because the players couldn’t eat greasy snacks given the current fitness standards of the sport.
Bananas
Bicyclists adore bananas. They contain carbs to boost energy levels as well as potassium to assist in restoring electrolytes lost via perspiration. The opening stage winner in Alanya is awarded a few kilograms of bananas, proving that no one likes them nearly as much as the Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey. That might not seem like much, but it makes sense because the city produces most of the fruit in Turkey, with about 40,000 tonnes produced yearly.
5GB of mobile data
In 2018, Hlompho Kekana of the South African team Mamelodi Sundowns went viral after receiving 5GB of mobile data from league sponsors after a performance that won him the “Man of the Match.” Such a prize would come in handy in a place where high-speed internet can be expensive. But it’s not the kind of thing you can put on your mantle and look back on when your career is gone!
A fresh fish
In August 2019, after winning Real Sociedad’s Player of the Month award, current Arsenal playmaker Martin Odegaard received a sizable fresh fish for reasons that we’ve never quite been able to decipher. He could have been excused for having the same confused look on his face as many others on this list at the age of 16, especially because he was earning a sizable weekly wage.
