[1] The awards are presented by the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, a global organisation involved in more than 150 charity projects supporting 500,000 young people.

[5] As of 2020[update], a shortlist of six nominees for the award comes from a panel composed of the "world's leading sports editors, writers and broadcasters".

During his debut season as a professional, the 19-year-old finished one stroke behind Tiger Woods at the 1999 PGA Championship and became the youngest player to gain selection for Team Europe for the Ryder Cup.

Having beaten teammate Lewis Hamilton to the 2016 World Championship title by five points, Rosberg announced his retirement from the sport five days later, two months prior to collecting his Laureus statuette.

[13][14] The 2024 winner of the Laureus World Sports Award for Breakthrough of the Year was English football player Jude Bellingham.