Football legend Trevor Brooking joined an elite list of sporting knights in the Queen's Birthday Honours List, published on the eve of Euro 2004.
Brooking, who made 600 appearances for West Ham and is now a senior FA official, heads a list of men and women honoured for services to sport.
Wales manager Mark Hughes, whose side came close to qualifying for Portugal, gets an upgrade from MBE to OBE.
Countryman Mark Williams, the 2003 world snooker champion, gets an MBE.
There is also an MBE for Bill Frindall, a man regarded as the closest thing there has ever been to a human encyclopaedia of cricket.
He has spent 36 years as scorer for the BBC Test Match Special and describes his job as "like having Christmas every day".
Brooking's honour comes in recognition of his years in sports administration as an outspoken former chairman and vice-chairman of Sport England, as well as
his football career.
Now the FA's director of football development, the former BBC pundit said: "This is a wonderful honour and a huge privilege.
"My whole life has been about sport, as a footballer, as a broadcaster and as an administrator.
"The only sad thing is that my mum and dad passed away in 1997 and 1998.
"I'm from an old East End family and they would have been chuffed to bits by this -
it was not something we could ever have envisaged when I was growing up."
The award was somewhat controversial as many felt it should have come earlier.
Brooking was fiercely critical of the Government's funding of sport during his four years as chairman of Sport England.
He left under a cloud in October 2002 without the knighthood that had been awarded to his predecessors immediately after leaving office.
Elsewhere in sport there is an MBE for Clare Connor, captain of England women's cricket team and county champions Sussex.
Connor, 27, who works as a teacher and part-time broadcaster, said: "It is a huge honour - I couldn't
believe my eyes when I got the letter from Downing Street.
"It's brilliant for women's cricket and women's sport as a whole and recognises the commitment we put in as amateurs."
In boxing there is an MBE for Jawaid Khaliq, the IBO world welterweight champion.
The Commonwealth champion, a former taxi driver from Nottingham, has made seven successful defences of his title, most recently in February with an easy points win over Ener Julio.
There is an OBE for Olly Croft, who was founder and director of the British Darts Organisation and remains one of the most prominent figures in the game.
Croft said: "I'm proud and honoured to receive this wonderful award on behalf of the BDO and the entire sport of darts.
"My OBE will be dedicated to the memory of my wife Lorna who passed away just over a year ago."
There is an MBE for Mike Hay, national coach of the Scottish women's curling team who won their historic Olympic gold medal in Salt Lake City. He is
one of the foremost exponents of the game.
In badminton, there are MBEs for Simon Archer and Joanne Goode, who together won Britain's first ever Olympic medal, a bronze, in the mixed doubles in 2000.
At the time Goode was the only mother playing at the top level on the badminton circuit.
Shortly after that triumph, Archer suffered a serious knee injury which put him out of the game for a year and though he has since recovered, he missed out on a chance to go to this year's Games.
There is an MBE for the former turbaned tennis linesman Raghbir Mhajan, who 20 years ago was often the victim of John McEnroe's on-court tantrums.
McEnroe accused Mhajan of bias in a match in 1981, to which he replied: "Mr McEnroe, I am an Indian but I come from Kenya."
There is an MBE for Cornish Paralympic powerlifter Julian Jeffery, for services to disabled sports.
Jeffery, who suffered brain-damage because of oxygen-starvation at birth, won three powerlifting gold medals in the 100kg class at the world Games in 1999 and holds three world records.
Queen's Birthday Sporting Honours in full
Trevor Brooking, director of football development English Football Association, for services to sport. Shenfield, Essex.
Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)
Diana Ellis, chairman Amateur Rowing Association, services to rowing.
Jane Holderness-Roddam, services to equestrian sport. Chippenham, Wilts
Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
Olly Croft, founder and director, British Darts Organisation, services to darts. London
Leslie Mark Hughes, services to football. Mottram St Andrew, Cheshire
Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)
Simon Archer, services to badminton. Worcester
Clare Connor, services to women's cricket. Hove, E Sussex
David Fielding, services to Aikido. London
William Frindall, cricket statistician, services to broadcasting and to
cricket. Devizes, Wilts
Joanne Goode, services to badminton. Tewin, Herts
Michael Hay, services to curling. Rhynd, Perth and Kinross
Cassandra Jackman, services to squash. Norwich
Julian Jeffery, powerlifter, services to disabled sports. St Levan, Cornwall
Jawaid Khaliq, boxer, services to boxing. Nottingham
Penelope Lumley, services to real tennis. White Waltham, Berks
John McDermott, coach for services to boxing in Scotland. Blantyre,
Raghbir Mhajan, services to tennis. London
Brenda Prescott, services to swimming and disabled sport. Amersham, Bucks
Ernest Thomas, services to sport. Milton Keynes
Mark Williams, services to snooker. Cardiff
Kathleen Worrell, services to netball. Hemel Hempstead