Chris Kamara

Soccer Player

Chris Kamara was born in Middlesbrough, England, United Kingdom on December 25th, 1957 and is the Soccer Player. At the age of 66, Chris Kamara biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.

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Date of Birth
December 25, 1957
Nationality
United Kingdom
Place of Birth
Middlesbrough, England, United Kingdom
Age
66 years old
Zodiac Sign
Capricorn
Networth
$20 Million
Profession
Association Football Manager, Association Football Player, Sports Commentator
Chris Kamara Height, Weight, Eye Color and Hair Color

At 66 years old, Chris Kamara has this physical status:

Height
185cm
Weight
Not Available
Hair Color
Not Available
Eye Color
Not Available
Build
Not Available
Measurements
Not Available
Chris Kamara Religion, Education, and Hobbies
Religion
Not Available
Hobbies
Not Available
Education
Not Available
Chris Kamara Spouse(s), Children, Affair, Parents, and Family
Spouse(s)
Not Available
Children
Not Available
Dating / Affair
Not Available
Parents
Not Available
Chris Kamara Career

Kamara's football career started when he was spotted playing for the Navy by Portsmouth manager Ian St John, who signed him on apprentice wages in November 1974 after agreeing to pay the Navy a £200 buy-out fee. Youth team coach Ray Crawford told the Portsmouth News that Kamara was "weak in the air, his marking is wayward and he hasn't got much positional sense", but privately told Kamara that he had the potential to become a first team player. He made his first team debut in August 1975 in a 2–0 defeat by Luton Town, winning his chance after Mick Mellows was struck down with a knee injury. The next match he scored his first senior goal in a 4–1 loss to Bolton Wanderers after being set up by Bobby McGuinness. He went on to play regular football at Fratton Park in the 1975–76 season as "Pompey" were relegated out of the Second Division in last place. The club avoided relegation out of the Third Division by a single point in 1976–77, after which new manager Jimmy Dickinson sold Kamara to Third Division rivals Swindon Town for £14,000.

Upon joining Swindon he was sent death threats by Portsmouth supporters, and was given police escorts to the County Ground. He scored on his debut against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough, but was frequently left out of the starting eleven by manager Danny Williams during the 1977–78 campaign. New boss Bobby Smith took the "Robins" to within three points of promotion in 1978–79, and then the semi-finals of the League Cup in 1979–80. John Trollope replaced Smith as manager following a dismal start to the 1980–81 campaign, and he sold Kamara back to Portsmouth for £50,000.

He was re-signed to Portsmouth by Frank Burrows, who had previously coached Kamara at Swindon. However, in October 1981 he was again transferred after Brentford manager Fred Callaghan agreed to a swap deal with David Crown going the other way. Kamara was paired with Terry Hurlock in a highly committed central midfield partnership at Griffin Park. He settled in well during the 1981–82 campaign and scored a career best of 11 goals in the 1982–83 season as Brentford posted two top ten finishes. The club then struggled to just one place above the Third Division relegation zone in 1983–84 before rising to 13th place in 1984–85. He won a Football League Trophy runners-up medal in 1985, playing at Wembley in a 3–1 defeat by Wigan Athletic. He took the decision to leave the club in summer 1985 after he rejected manager Frank McLintock's offer of a new one-year contract on the same terms.

Kamara re-joined Swindon Town in August 1985 for a fee of £12,500 despite suffering from a ruptured hamstring tendon. Under the guidance of Lou Macari the "Robins" won promotion out of the Fourth Division as champions in 1985–86, though Kamara missed the first half of the campaign and only played 23 games. He missed just four games of the 1986–87 season as Swindon secured a second successive promotion by beating Gillingham in the play-offs; Kamara missed the replay but played in the original home and away leg fixtures of the tie. However, Kamara became the first English player to be convicted of grievous bodily harm for an on-pitch incident, after breaking Shrewsbury Town player Jim Melrose's cheekbone with a punch straight after the final whistle of a game in the 1987–88 season; he was fined £1,200.

Kamara moved on again in the summer of 1988 after choosing to reject Swindon's offer of a one-year contract. He instead joined Mick Mills at Stoke City. He was paired with Peter Beagrie in central midfield at the Victoria Ground. He had a good 1988–89 season, scoring five goals in 44 appearances and he won the player of the year award. On 19 August 1989 he was involved in a challenge where West Ham United's Frank McAvennie was stretchered off and required surgery on his ankle; McAvennie attempted to sue Kamara for damages but was unsuccessful. Midway through the 1989–90 season Mills was dismissed and replaced by Alan Ball, who promptly sold Kamara to Leeds United. In joining Leeds he rejected the offer to join Bruce Rioch's Middlesbrough – his hometown club that was owned by childhood friend Steve Gibson.

At Elland Road were David Batty, Vinnie Jones, Gordon Strachan and Gary Speed; the presence of these highly skilled midfielders meant that Kamara was frequently left on the bench by manager Howard Wilkinson. Kamara helped Leeds win the Second Division title in 1989–90 but appeared sparingly for the "Whites" in the First Division after finding himself injured with an Achilles tendon problem during the 1990–91 campaign. He left Leeds in November 1991 and they went on to win the First Division title.

Kamara remained in the top-flight by joining David Pleat's Luton Town for a £150,000 fee after returning to full fitness. The "Hatters" were relegated on the last day of the 1991–92 season after letting slip a 1–0 lead over Notts County to lose the game 2–1.

In October 1992, Kamara returned to the top-flight - now called the Premier League after joining Dave Bassett's Sheffield United on loan. Despite failing to nail down a regular first team place in the 1992–93 season he made the move from Kenilworth Road to Bramall Lane permanent. Before joining United he finally joined his hometown club Middlesbrough, albeit on a one-month loan, in February 1993. His spell at Ayresome Park lasted just five games as manager Lennie Lawrence could not afford to offer him a permanent contract. The "Blades" were relegated at the end of the 1993–94 campaign after slipping into the relegation zone on the final day of the season after a defeat by Chelsea.

Kamara signed with Bradford City in summer 1994 after being offered a playing-coaching role by manager Lennie Lawrence. The "Bantams" struggled in the 1994–95 season, though Kamara was promoted to assistant manager in April 1995.

Managerial career

In November 1995, Bradford City chairman Geoffrey Richmond dismissed manager Lennie Lawrence and elevated Kamara from assistant manager to take Lawrence's place. His goal was to keep the "Bantams" out of the relegation zone by the end of the 1995–96 season. However, the club went on a run of just three defeats in the final 13 games to secure a place in the play-offs. They turned round a 2–0 defeat at Valley Parade in the first leg of the play-off semi-finals to beat Sam Allardyce's Blackpool at Bloomfield Road. Promotion was secured with a 2–0 victory over Notts County in the play-off final with goals from Des Hamilton and Mark Stallard.

He signed Australian goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer from 1. FC Kaiserslautern for £150,000, who proved to be a more than adequate replacement for Gavin Ward who was sold to Bolton Wanderers for £300,000. He paid a club record £550,000 for Gordon Watson, who played just two games before being badly injured after a challenge from Huddersfield Town defender Kevin Gray. The 1996–97 season saw Bradford narrowly escape relegation after a final day victory over Queens Park Rangers.

In summer 1997, he brought in Darren Moore and Robbie Blake, whilst paying £50,000 for Jamie Lawrence and another £50,000 for Peter Beagrie. He also signed Brazilian striker Edinho and former England international Chris Waddle on free transfers. He remained at Valley Parade until he left the club in January 1998. He and chairman Geoffrey Richmond had fallen out over Richmond's insistence on becoming heavily involved in the club's transfer policy. He recommended his assistant Paul Jewell to be his successor, who went on to have his own highly successful spell as Bradford's manager.

On 22 January 1998, he was appointed manager of one of his former clubs, Stoke City, and arrived with bold intentions at the Britannia Stadium stating that he would build a squad good enough to take the club into the Premier League. However, with Stoke already in serious relegation trouble in 1997–98, Kamara sold their only player of real value, Andy Griffin to Newcastle United. He fell out with Chief Executive Jez Moxey over how to spend the proceeds of the sale; Moxey wanted Marco Gabbiadini but Kamara vetoed the deal. He instead spent £350,000 on Coventry City striker Kyle Lightbourne. In his 14 games in charge with the "Potters", only one was won and he was dismissed on 8 April 1998. In Kamara's three months in charge, Stoke could not recover from their poor form and were relegated to the third tier.

Media career

Kamara gave up on management after his time at Stoke City and instead worked as a pundit for a number of television and radio stations. He won a regular slot on Soccer Extra with Brian Woolnough in 1999, and from there was asked by Rob McCaffrey to contribute to Soccer Saturday on Sky Sports. There he was asked to attend a match on Saturday and appear over live video link providing brief updates on the match. At the time this was an untried concept in the UK, and Kamara and his camera crew largely learned how to best present the format as they went along. He quickly became well known on the programme for his highly excitable nature, propensity for comical gaffes and tendency to come out with unusual sayings that baffled host Jeff Stelling and the other studio pundits, such as his observation that the Tottenham players were "fighting like beavers" in their match against Arsenal. In one of his more famous on-air gaffes, he failed to realise that Anthony Vanden Borre had been sent off in the game he was watching between Portsmouth and Blackburn, instead thinking that he had been substituted.

Kamara has also presented the weekly Sky Sports show Goals on Sunday since August 2000 and provides additional commentary on some of Sky's televised matches. He is also a regular guest on Soccer AM, interviewing players and managers at grounds around the country.

Before the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Kamara changed his name by deed poll to Chris Cabanga (Cabanga is a Zulu word meaning 'to think' or 'imagine') in response to a Facebook campaign supported by 20,000 people.

In 2012, he made a special appearance for Mid Wales Football League side Welshpool Town, after his Sky Sports colleague Jeff Stelling mocked the strugglers following the club's 10–1 loss to Waterloo Rovers the previous week. Welshpool manager David Jones emailed Sky explaining how the club nearly folded, and Sky made amends by arranging for Kamara to play for them. He played the full 90 minutes, in midfield in a 6–1 defeat, assisting a goal with a corner. On 28 March 2013, he appeared for a second time; more than 500 fans turned out to watch the game which Welshpool lost 4–1 to Newbridge-on-Wye in the Spar Mid Wales League.

Kamara co-presents the ITV series Ninja Warrior UK alongside Ben Shephard and Rochelle Humes. The first series began airing in April 2015 and the second in January 2016. A third series of Ninja Warrior UK began in December 2016. In 2015, Kamara took part in ITV's Give a Pet a Home series which worked alongside the RSPCA in Birmingham.

In February 2016, Kamara appeared in an episode of The Great Sport Relief Bake Off and in June 2016, he provided the commentary for Soccer Aid 2016 alongside Clive Tyldesley. Since February 2017, Kamara has provided commentary for the 'Ant vs. Dec' segment of Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway.

In 2021, Kamara played himself on Ted Lasso, as a pundit on a fictional version of Soccer Saturday, along with presenter Jeff Stelling.

In April 2022, it was announced that Kamara would be leaving Sky Sports at the end of the 2021-22 football season after working on Soccer Saturday for 24 years.

Career statistics

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After offering a seat on the Tube to a'mature' lady, Chris Kamara says'chivalry is dead,' but she was rudely turned down

www.dailymail.co.uk, January 27, 2024
After being snubbed by a woman when he offered his seat on the Tube, football commentator Chris Kamara has pronounced, 'chivalry is dead,' The Sky Sports veteran said his well-intentioned gesture collapsed flat, leaving him feeling 'like a dinosaur.' As the incident occurred, Kamara, who is best known to viewers as 'Kammy' and for his co-host Jeff Stelling, was traveling from Heathrow to King's Cross. On X, formerly Twitter, Kamara, 66, announced that a'mature lady' boarded the carriage and offered her the opportunity to sit in his seat. Instead, he says, she retorted: 'Why would I need to?'

After debating a harrowing two-year struggle with a rare speech disorder that left him 'feeling like a shell of a man,' Chris Kamara breaks down in tears on Britain Get Singing

www.dailymail.co.uk, December 25, 2023
In Britain, a rare museural disorder suffers. Get Singing On Sunday, Prime Minister David Cameron's life is back on track after a two-year struggle. Apraxia is a little-understood medical disorder that can affect the body's ability to perform natural motor functions and causes him to talk slower. During his time on Sky Sports, Chris Moore established himself as one of football's top loved and most respected sports broadcasters, but he has since fallen out of the spotlight, as a result of his illness.

This week, KFC is giving free festive burgers away - but there is a little bit of a catch

www.dailymail.co.uk, December 11, 2023
KFC has launched the first ever 'Sleigh Thru' to celebrate the introduction of its all-new festive menu items, the Stuffing Stacker Burger and Stuffing Tower Burger. The first 50 people to attend 'Sleigh Thru' dressed as Santa from December 12-16 will receive a free Stuffing Stacker Burger at selected KFC restaurants around the UK. Customers will have to go all out - a Santa hat on its own will not do - they're supposed to be in their best Santa getup ever. However, if you're lucky enough to be one of the first 50 hungry customers, don't be concerned - limited edition burgers are on both online and in-store. Chris Kamara, a footballer who's switched in his football boots for Santa boots in order to bring the festive season to life, has collaborated with the fried chicken franchise to bring the festive experience to life.