View source for Chris Kamara

{{Short description|Former English football player and manager (born 1957)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name           = Chris Kamara<br /><small>{{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|MBE}}</small>
| image          = Chris Kamara - Marie Curie Cancer Care Football League Ambassador.jpg
| caption        = Kamara at a charity event in 2011
| fullname       = Christopher Kamara<ref name="Stoke City Modern Era">{{cite book|last=Lowe|first=Simon|title=Stoke City The Modern Era – A Complete Record|year=2000|publisher=Desert Island Books|isbn=1-874287-39-2}}</ref>
| birth_date     = {{birth date and age|1957|12|25|df=y}}<ref name="Stoke City Modern Era"/>
| birth_place    = [[Middlesbrough]], England
| height         = {{convert|1.85|m|order=flip}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.11v11.com/players/chris-kamara-33389/ |title=Chris Kamara |website=11v11.com |publisher=AFS Enterprises |access-date=2 February 2018}}</ref>
| position       = [[Midfielder]]
| youthyears1    = 1974–1975 | youthclubs1 = [[Portsmouth F.C.|Portsmouth]]
| years1         = 1975–1977 | clubs1  = [[Portsmouth F.C.|Portsmouth]]                     | caps1  = 63  | goals1  = 7
| years2         = 1977–1981 | clubs2  = [[Swindon Town F.C.|Swindon Town]]                 | caps2  = 147 | goals2  = 21
| years3         = 1981      | clubs3  = [[Portsmouth F.C.|Portsmouth]]                     | caps3  = 11  | goals3  = 0
| years4         = 1981–1985 | clubs4  = [[Brentford F.C.|Brentford]]                       | caps4  = 152 | goals4  = 28
| years5         = 1985–1988 | clubs5  = [[Swindon Town F.C.|Swindon Town]]                 | caps5  = 86  | goals5  = 6
| years6         = 1988–1990 | clubs6  = [[Stoke City F.C.|Stoke City]]                     | caps6  = 60  | goals6  = 5
| years7         = 1990–1991 | clubs7  = [[Leeds United F.C.|Leeds United]]                 | caps7  = 20  | goals7  = 1
| years8         = 1991–1993 | clubs8  = [[Luton Town F.C.|Luton Town]]                     | caps8  = 49  | goals8  = 0
| years9         = 1992–1993 | clubs9  = → [[Sheffield United F.C.|Sheffield United]] (loan)| caps9  = 8   | goals9  = 0
| years10        = 1993      | clubs10 = → [[Middlesbrough F.C.|Middlesbrough]] (loan)      | caps10 = 5   | goals10 = 0
| years11        = 1993–1994 | clubs11 = [[Sheffield United F.C.|Sheffield United]]         | caps11 = 16  | goals11 = 0
| years12        = 1994–1995 | clubs12 = [[Bradford City A.F.C.|Bradford City]]             | caps12 = 23  | goals12 = 3
| years13        = 2012–2013 | clubs13 = [[Welshpool Town F.C.|Welshpool Town]]             | caps13 = 2   | goals13 = 0
| totalcaps      = 643
| totalgoals = 71
| manageryears1 = 1995–1998
| managerclubs1 = [[Bradford City A.F.C.|Bradford City]]
| manageryears2 = 1998
| managerclubs2 = [[Stoke City F.C.|Stoke City]]
}}
'''Christopher Kamara''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|MBE}} (born 25 December 1957) is an English former professional [[association football|footballer]] and manager who worked as a presenter and football analyst at [[Sky Sports]] from 1992 to 2022.

As a player, he was known as a tough-tackling [[midfielder]]. He joined the [[Royal Navy]] at the age of 16, before being signed by [[Portsmouth F.C.|Portsmouth]] in November 1974. He spent three years at the club before being sold on to [[Swindon Town F.C.|Swindon Town]] for £14,000. He returned to Portsmouth in 1981 for a £50,000 fee but was transferred to [[Brentford F.C.|Brentford]] in October 1981. He spent four years with the "Bees" before leaving the club after picking up a runners-up medal in the [[Football League Trophy]] in [[1985 Football League Trophy Final|1985]].

Kamara re-signed with Swindon Town in August 1985 and helped the club to two successive promotions into the [[Football League Second Division|Second Division]]. He moved on to [[Stoke City F.C.|Stoke City]] in 1988, and a successful spell with the club won him a move to [[Leeds United F.C.|Leeds United]] in 1990. He helped the club to the Second Division title in 1989–90 but was injured for eight months before being sold to [[Luton Town F.C.|Luton Town]] for £150,000 in 1991. He had loan spells with [[Premier League]] clubs [[Sheffield United F.C.|Sheffield United]] and [[Middlesbrough F.C.|Middlesbrough]], before joining Sheffield United on a permanent basis in 1993. The following year he joined [[Bradford City A.F.C.|Bradford City]] as a player-coach.

Kamara was appointed Bradford City manager in November 1995 and took the club from a relegation scrap to promotion out of the Second Division via the play-offs in [[1996 Football League Second Division play-off Final|1996]]. He left the club in January 1998 and quickly took the reins at Stoke City, before he left the "Potters" in April 1998. From there he became a broadcaster with Sky Sports and has since appeared as a presenter on numerous other television programmes.

==Early life==
Kamara was born in [[Middlesbrough]], [[North Riding of Yorkshire]], to a Sierra Leonean father, Alimamy Kindo "Albert" Kamara, and British national Irene Kamara, on [[Christmas Day]] in 1957.<ref>{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=116}}</ref> Through his father he was eligible to play for [[Sierra Leone national football team|Sierra Leone]], and was called up to play in the [[1994 African Cup of Nations]], though he declined the offer.<ref>{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=97}}</ref>

His father was a heavy gambler, leaving his mother Irene to occasionally plead for money from neighbours in order to provide food for Kamara and his brother George and sister Maria.<ref>{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=117}}</ref> Being one of the few black families in [[Park End, Middlesbrough|Park End]], the family suffered racist abuse.<ref>{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=115}}</ref>

He remains a close friend of [[Middlesbrough F.C.|Middlesbrough]] chairman [[Steve Gibson (businessman)|Steve Gibson]], with whom he grew up on the Park End council estate. He and Gibson regularly attended matches together.<ref>{{cite news|title=Chris Kamara, football pundit|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2006/aug/10/newsstory.sport12|access-date=17 November 2013|newspaper=The Guardian|date=10 August 2006}}</ref>

He joined the [[Royal Navy]] at age 16, at the insistence of his father, himself a former naval mariner.<ref>{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=118}}</ref> In doing so he missed the youth cup final for Middlesbrough Boys, though he went on to play for the Royal Navy's football team.<ref>{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=119}}</ref> He was trained at [[HMS Raleigh (shore establishment)|HMS ''Raleigh'']] at [[Torpoint]]<ref>{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=120}}</ref> and later transferred to [[HMS Vernon (shore establishment)|HMS ''Vernon'']].<ref name="page 121">{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=121}}</ref>

==Playing career==
Kamara's football career started when he was spotted playing for the Navy by [[Portsmouth F.C.|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.<ref name="page 121"/> Youth team coach [[Ray Crawford (footballer)|Ray Crawford]] told the ''[[The News (Portsmouth)|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.<ref name="page 121"/><ref>{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=131}}</ref> He made his first team debut in August 1975 in a 2–0 defeat by [[Luton Town F.C.|Luton Town]], winning his chance after [[Mick Mellows]] was struck down with a knee injury.<ref>{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=132}}</ref> The next match he scored his first senior goal in a 4–1 loss to [[Bolton Wanderers F.C.|Bolton Wanderers]] after being set up by [[Bobby McGuinness]].<ref>{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=134}}</ref> He went on to play regular football at [[Fratton Park]] in the [[1975–76 Football League|1975–76]] season as "Pompey" were relegated out of the [[Football League Second Division|Second Division]] in last place. The club avoided relegation out of the [[Football League Third Division|Third Division]] by a single point in [[1976–77 Football League|1976–77]], after which new manager [[Jimmy Dickinson]] sold Kamara to Third Division rivals [[Swindon Town F.C.|Swindon Town]] for £14,000.<ref>{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=138}}</ref>

Upon joining Swindon he was sent death threats by Portsmouth supporters, and was given police escorts to the [[County Ground (Swindon)|County Ground]].<ref>{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=141}}</ref> He scored on his debut against [[Sheffield Wednesday F.C.|Sheffield Wednesday]] at [[Hillsborough Stadium|Hillsborough]], but was frequently left out of the starting eleven by manager [[Danny Williams (footballer, born 1924)|Danny Williams]] during the [[1977–78 Football League|1977–78]] campaign.<ref>{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=145}}</ref> New boss [[Bobby Smith (footballer, born 1944)|Bobby Smith]] took the "Robins" to within three points of promotion in [[1978–79 Football League|1978–79]], and then the semi-finals of the [[EFL Cup|League Cup]] in [[1979–80 Football League|1979–80]]. [[John Trollope (footballer)|John Trollope]] replaced Smith as manager following a dismal start to the [[1980–81 Football League|1980–81]] campaign, and he sold Kamara back to Portsmouth for £50,000.<ref name="page 153">{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=153}}</ref>

He was re-signed to Portsmouth by [[Frank Burrows]], who had previously coached Kamara at Swindon.<ref name="page 153"/> However, in October 1981 he was again transferred after [[Brentford F.C.|Brentford]] manager [[Fred Callaghan]] agreed to a swap deal with [[David Crown]] going the other way.<ref>{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=154}}</ref> Kamara was paired with [[Terry Hurlock]] in a highly committed central midfield partnership at [[Griffin Park]].<ref>{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=157}}</ref> He settled in well during the [[1981–82 Football League|1981–82]] campaign and scored a career best of eleven goals in the [[1982–83 Football League|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 Football League|1983–84]] before rising to 13th place in [[1984–85 Football League|1984–85]]. He won a [[Football League Trophy]] runners-up medal in [[1985 Football League Trophy Final|1985]], playing at [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley]] in a 3–1 defeat to [[Wigan Athletic F.C.|Wigan Athletic]].<ref name="Stoke City Modern Era"/> 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.<ref>{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=167}}</ref>

Kamara re-joined Swindon Town in August 1985 for a fee of £12,500 despite suffering from a ruptured hamstring tendon.<ref name="Kamara 2011 170">{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=170}}</ref> Under the guidance of [[Lou Macari]] the "Robins" won promotion out of the [[Football League Fourth Division|Fourth Division]] as champions in [[1985–86 Football League|1985–86]], though Kamara missed the first half of the campaign and only played 23 games.<ref name="Kamara 2011 170"/> He missed just four games of the [[1986–87 Football League|1986–87]] season as Swindon secured a second successive promotion by beating [[Gillingham F.C.|Gillingham]] in the [[EFL League One play-offs|play-offs]]; Kamara missed the replay but played in the original home and away leg fixtures of the tie.<ref>{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=173}}</ref> However, Kamara became the first English player to be convicted of [[grievous bodily harm]] for an on-pitch incident, after breaking [[Shrewsbury Town F.C.|Shrewsbury Town]] player [[Jim Melrose]]'s cheekbone with a punch straight after the final whistle of a game in the [[1987–88 Football League|1987–88]] season; he was fined £1,200.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/7369009/Footballer-first-to-be-jailed-for-on-field-tackle.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/7369009/Footballer-first-to-be-jailed-for-on-field-tackle.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Footballer first to be jailed for on-field tackle|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=4 March 2010|access-date=3 December 2019|language=en-GB|issn=0307-1235}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Kamara moved on again in the summer of 1988 after choosing to reject Swindon's offer of a one-year contract.<ref>{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=180}}</ref> He instead joined [[Mick Mills]] at [[Stoke City F.C.|Stoke City]].<ref name="Stoke City Modern Era"/> He was paired with [[Peter Beagrie]] in central midfield at the [[Victoria Ground]].<ref>{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=182}}</ref> He had a good [[1988–89 Stoke City F.C. season|1988–89]] season, scoring five goals in 44 appearances and he won the [[Stoke City F.C. Player of the Year|player of the year award]].<ref name="Stoke City Modern Era"/> On 19 August 1989 he was involved in a challenge where [[West Ham United F.C.|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.<ref>{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=184}}</ref> Midway through the [[1989–90 Stoke City F.C. season|1989–90]] season Mills was dismissed and replaced by [[Alan Ball Jr.|Alan Ball]], who promptly sold Kamara to [[Leeds United F.C.|Leeds United]].<ref name="Stoke City Modern Era"/> In joining Leeds he rejected the offer to join [[Bruce Rioch]]'s Middlesbrough – his hometown club that was owned by childhood friend Steve Gibson.<ref>{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=190}}</ref>

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]].<ref>{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=197}}</ref> Kamara helped Leeds win the Second Division title in [[1989–90 Football League|1989–90]] but appeared sparingly for the "Whites" in the [[Football League First Division|First Division]] after finding himself injured with an Achilles tendon problem during the [[1990–91 Leeds United A.F.C. season|1990–91]] campaign.<ref>{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=209}}</ref> He left Leeds in November 1991 and they went on to win the First Division title.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.leeds-fans.org.uk/leeds/history/77.html|title=Leeds United: Season 1991 – 1992: Division One|publisher=leeds-fans.org.uk|access-date=10 August 2012}}</ref>

Kamara remained in the top flight by joining [[David Pleat]]'s Luton Town for a £150,000 fee after returning to full fitness.<ref>{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=214}}</ref> The "Hatters" were relegated on the last day of the [[1991–92 Luton Town F.C. season|1991–92]] season after letting slip a 1–0 lead over [[Notts County F.C.|Notts County]] to lose the game 2–1.<ref>{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=220}}</ref>

In October 1992, Kamara returned to the top flight, now called the [[Premier League]], after joining [[Dave Bassett]]'s [[Sheffield United F.C.|Sheffield United]] on loan. During this time he had the opportunity to play for Sierra Leone, the country of his father, but declined to focus on getting back into the first team <ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live:bbc_radio_five_live | title=Radio 5 Live - Listen Live - BBC Sounds }}</ref><ref name="page 221">{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=221}}</ref> Despite failing to nail down a regular first team place in the [[1992–93 Sheffield United F.C. season|1992–93]] season he made the move from [[Kenilworth Road]] to [[Bramall Lane]] permanent.<ref name="page 221"/> Before joining United he finally joined his hometown club Middlesbrough, albeit on a one-month loan, in February 1993.<ref name="page 224">{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=224}}</ref> His spell at [[Ayresome Park]] lasted just five games as manager [[Lennie Lawrence]] could not afford to offer him a permanent contract.<ref name="page 224"/> The "Blades" were relegated at the end of the [[1993–94 Sheffield United F.C. season|1993–94]] campaign after slipping into the relegation zone on the final day of the season after a defeat by [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]].<ref>{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=222}}</ref>

Kamara signed with [[Bradford City A.F.C.|Bradford City]] in summer 1994 after being offered a playing-coaching role by manager Lennie Lawrence.<ref>{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=225}}</ref> The "Bantams" struggled in the [[1994–95 Football League|1994–95]] season, though Kamara was promoted to assistant manager in April 1995.<ref>{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=226}}</ref>

==Managerial career==
===Bradford City===
In November 1995, Bradford City chairman [[Geoffrey Richmond]] dismissed manager Lennie Lawrence and promoted Kamara from assistant manager to take Lawrence's place.<ref>{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=227}}</ref> His goal was to keep the "Bantams" out of the relegation zone by the end of the [[1995–96 Football League|1995–96]] season.<ref>{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=228}}</ref> However, the club went on a run of just three defeats in the final thirteen games to secure a place in the play-offs.<ref>{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=230}}</ref> 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 F.C.|Blackpool]] at [[Bloomfield Road]].<ref>{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=236}}</ref> Promotion was secured with a 2–0 victory over Notts County in the [[1996 Football League Second Division play-off Final|play-off final]] with goals from [[Des Hamilton]] and [[Mark Stallard]].<ref>{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=242}}</ref>

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 (footballer)|Gavin Ward]], who was sold to Bolton Wanderers for £300,000.<ref>{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=251}}</ref> He paid a [[List of Bradford City A.F.C. records and statistics|club record]] £550,000 for [[Gordon Watson (footballer, born 1971)|Gordon Watson]], who played just two games before being badly injured after a challenge from [[Huddersfield Town A.F.C.|Huddersfield Town]] defender [[Kevin Gray (footballer)|Kevin Gray]].<ref>{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=254}}</ref> The [[1996–97 Bradford City A.F.C. season|1996–97]] season saw Bradford narrowly escape relegation after a final day victory over [[Queens Park Rangers F.C.|Queens Park Rangers]].<ref name="page 255">{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=255}}</ref>

In summer 1997, he brought in [[Darren Moore]] and [[Robbie Blake]], whilst paying £50,000 for [[Jamie Lawrence (footballer, born 1970)|Jamie Lawrence]] and another £50,000 for [[Peter Beagrie]].<ref name="page 255"/> He also signed Brazilian striker [[Edinho (footballer, born 1967)|Edinho]] and former [[England national football team|England]] international [[Chris Waddle]] on free transfers.<ref>{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=253}}</ref> He remained at Valley Parade until he left the club in January 1998.<ref name="Stoke City Modern Era"/> He and chairman Geoffrey Richmond had fallen out over Richmond's insistence on becoming heavily involved in the club's transfer policy.<ref>{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=267}}</ref> He recommended his assistant [[Paul Jewell]] to be his successor, who went on to have his own highly successful spell as Bradford's manager.<ref>{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=270}}</ref>

===Stoke City===
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.<ref name="Stoke City Modern Era"/> However, with Stoke already in serious relegation trouble in [[1997–98 Stoke City F.C. season|1997–98]], Kamara sold their only player of real value, [[Andy Griffin]] to [[Newcastle United F.C.|Newcastle United]].<ref name="Stoke City Modern Era"/> 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.<ref>{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=287}}</ref> He instead spent £350,000 on [[Coventry City F.C.|Coventry City]] striker [[Kyle Lightbourne]].<ref>{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=288}}</ref> In his 14 games in charge with the "Potters", only one was won and he was dismissed on 8 April 1998.<ref>{{cite news|last=Maertin|first=Andrew|title=Kamara leaves struggling Stoke|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football-kamara-leaves-struggling-stoke-1155373.html|access-date=17 November 2013|newspaper=The Independent|date=9 April 1998}}</ref> In Kamara's three months in charge, Stoke could not recover from their poor form and were relegated to the third tier.<ref name="Stoke City Modern Era"/>

==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.<ref name="page 21">{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=21}}</ref> 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]].<ref name="page 21"/> There he was asked to attend a match on Saturday and appear over live video link providing brief updates on the match.<ref name="page 22">{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=22}}</ref> 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.<ref name="page 22"/> 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 Hotspur F.C.|Tottenham]] players were "fighting like beavers" in their match against [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]].<ref>{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=48}}</ref> 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 Rovers F.C.|Blackburn Rovers]], instead thinking that he had been substituted.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Potter |first=Alistair |date=6 April 2010 |title=Chris Kamara red card gaff becomes YouTube hit |url=http://metro.co.uk/2010/04/06/chris-kamara-gaff-on-portsmouth-v-blackburn-sending-off-i-dont-know-jeff-becomes-youtube-hit-221342/ |access-date=17 November 2013 |work=Metro}}</ref>

Kamara has also presented the weekly Sky Sports show ''[[Goals on Sunday]]'' since August 2000 and provides additional commentary on some of [[BSkyB|Sky]]'s televised matches.<ref>{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=74}}</ref> He is also a regular guest on ''[[Soccer AM]]'', interviewing players and managers at grounds around the country.<ref>{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=51}}</ref>

Before the [[2010 FIFA World Cup]], Kamara changed his name by deed poll to Chris Cabanga ([[wikt:cabanga|Cabanga]] is a Zulu word meaning "to think" or "imagine") in response to a [[Facebook]] campaign supported by 20,000 people.<ref>{{cite web|title=Chris Cabanga|url=http://www.bristolcity.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=200392|work=bristolcity.vitalfootball.co.uk|access-date=17 November 2013|archive-date=25 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150425044158/http://www.bristolcity.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=200392}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=When VitalEngland met Chris Cabanga|url=http://www.england.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=201079|work=england.vitalfootball.co.uk|access-date=17 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714065907/http://www.england.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=201079|archive-date=14 July 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Cabanga chant to help England win World Cup|url=http://newslite.tv/2010/05/03/cabanga-chant-to-help-england.html|work=newslite.tv|access-date=17 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130129162332/http://newslite.tv/2010/05/03/cabanga-chant-to-help-england.html|archive-date=29 January 2013}}</ref>

In 2012, he made a special appearance for [[Mid Wales Football League]] side [[Welshpool Town F.C.|Welshpool Town]], after his Sky Sports colleague [[Jeff Stelling]] mocked the strugglers following the club's 10–1 loss to [[Waterloo Rovers F.C.|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.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-mid-wales-16773252 |title=Sky Sports' Chris Kamara plays for Welshpool Town after 10–1 ribbing |work=BBC News |date=28 January 2012}}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/2012/03/29/chris-kamara-and-paul-merson-turn-out-for-welshpool/#:~:text=Welshpool%20eventually%20went%20down%204,out%20to%20watch%20the%20game.|title = Chris Kamara and Paul Merson turn out for Welshpool| date=29 March 2012 }}</ref>

Kamara co-presents the [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] series ''[[Ninja Warrior UK]]'' alongside [[Ben Shephard]] and [[Rochelle Humes]]. The [[Ninja Warrior UK (series 1)|first series]] began airing in April 2015 and the [[Ninja Warrior UK (series 2)|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/a636701/julian-clary-peter-andre-kimberly-wyatt-for-itvs-give-a-pet-a-home.html#~p7ynUNBUbsPJwL|title=Julian Clary, Peter Andre, Kimberly Wyatt for ITV's Give a Pet a Home|first=Susannah|last=Alexander|date=20 March 2015|work=Digital Spy}}</ref>

In February 2016, Kamara appeared in an episode of ''[[The Great British Bake Off#The Great Sport Relief Bake Off|The Great Sport Relief Bake Off]]''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/chris-kamara-star-great-british-10584884|title=Chris Kamara to star in Great British Bake Off Sport Relief special|first=Laura|last=Love|date=11 December 2015|work=gazettelive}}</ref> and in June 2016, he provided the commentary for ''[[Soccer Aid#Soccer Aid 2016|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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/comedy/ted-lasso-phil-holly-chris-kamara-jeff-stelling-cameos-newsupdate/|title = Ted Lasso season 2 reveals surprise cameos for major British TV stars}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/12602135/soccer-saturdays-chris-kamara-to-leave-sky-sports-after-24-years|title = Soccer Saturday's Chris Kamara to leave Sky Sports after 24 years}}</ref>

===Television credits===
{| class="wikitable"
|-  style="background:#b0c4de; text-align:center;"
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Channel
! Notes
|-
|2000–22
|''[[Goals on Sunday]]''
|Co-presenter
|[[Sky Sports]]
|With [[Alex Scott (footballer, born 1984)|Alex Scott]] (currently)
|-
|rowspan=2|2011
|''[[That Sunday Night Show]]''
|Guest
|[[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]
| 1 episode
|-
|''[[John Bishop's Britain]]''
|Football pundit
|[[BBC One]]
| 5 episodes
|-
|2012, 2016
|''[[8 Out of 10 Cats]]''
|Guest
|[[Channel 4]]/[[More4]]
| 2 episodes
|-
|2013
|''[[Tipping Point (game show)|Tipping Point: Lucky Stars]]''
|Contestant
|rowspan=4|[[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]
| 1 episode; won £400 for [[Marie Curie Cancer Care]]
|-
| 2014
| ''[[The Chase (British game show)|The Chase: Celebrity Special]]''
| Contestant
| 1 episode
|-
|2015–2022
|''[[Ninja Warrior UK]]''
|Co-presenter
| 5 series; with [[Ben Shephard]] and [[Rochelle Humes]]
|-
| 2015
|''[[Give a Pet a Home]]''
| Celebrity contributor
| 1 series
|-
| 2015, 2016, 2017
|''[[Celebrity Juice]]''
| Guest
| [[ITV2]]
| 3 episodes
|-
|2015
|''[[Tipping Point (game show)|Tipping Point for Text Santa]]''
|Contestant
| [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]
| 1 episode; won £500 for the [[Text Santa]] charities
|-
|rowspan=11|2016
|''[[The Big Fat Quiz of the Year|The Big Fat Quiz of Everything]]''
|Guest
|[[Channel 4]]
| 1 episode
|-
|''[[Loose Women]]''
|Guest
|[[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]
| 2 episodes
|-
|''[[The Great British Bake Off#The Great Sport Relief Bake Off|The Great Sport Relief Bake Off]]''<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-35066928|title=Great British Bake Off: Samantha Cameron set for charity special|work=BBC News|date=11 December 2015}}</ref>
|Contestant
| [[BBC One]]
| 1 episode
|-
|''[[You're Back in the Room]]''
|Guest
|rowspan=3|[[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]
| 1 episode
|-
|''[[Play to the Whistle]]''
|Guest
| 1 episode
|-
|''[[Soccer Aid#Soccer Aid 2016|Soccer Aid 2016]]''
|Commentator
| Live football event
|-
|''[[Murder in Successville]]''
|Guest
|[[BBC Three]]
| 1 episode
|-
|''[[It's Not Me, It's You (game show)|It's Not Me, It's You]]''
|Guest
|[[Channel 5 (UK)|Channel 5]]
| 1 episode
|-
|''[[Storage Hunters#Celebrity Storage Hunters|Celebrity Storage Hunters]]''
|Participant
|[[Dave (TV channel)|Dave]]
| 1 episode
|-
|''[[Have I Got News for You]]''
|Guest
|rowspan=2|[[BBC One]]
| 1 episode
|-
|''[[Would I Lie to You? (British game show)|Would I Lie to You? Christmas Special]]''
|Guest
| 1 episode
|-
| rowspan="5"|2017
| ''[[Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway]]''
| Commentator
| rowspan=5|[[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]
| 1 episode; 'Ant vs. Dec' segment
|-
| ''[[Harry Hill's Alien Fun Capsule]]''
| Commentator
| 1 episode
|-
| ''[[The Keith & Paddy Picture Show]]''
| [[Ray Parker Jr.]]
| 1 episode
|-
| ''Possibly...The Best Adverts in the World''
| Guest
| One-off episode
|-
| ''Guess the Star''
| Performer
| One-off episode
|-
| rowspan=6|2018
| ''[[Room 101 (British TV series)|Room 101]]''
| Guest
| [[BBC One]]
| 1 episode
|-
| ''[[Through the Keyhole]]''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BZ3Ero9FX3B/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/s/instagram/BZ3Ero9FX3B |archive-date=23 December 2021 |url-access=subscription|title=Keith Lemon on Instagram: "The last day filming keyhole. Great panel"|website=Instagram|language=en|access-date=3 December 2019}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
| Panellist
| rowspan=2|[[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]
| 1 episode
|-
| ''[[Catchphrase (British game show)|Catchphrase: Celebrity Special]]''
| Contestant
| Episodes 11 and 13 (2018 World Cup)
|-
| ''[[All Together Now (UK TV series)|All Together Now: Celebrity Special]]''
| Contestant
| [[BBC One]]
| 1 episode
|-
|''[[The Crystal Maze|The Crystal Maze: Celebrity Special]]''
| Contestant
|[[Channel 4 (UK)|Channel 4]]
| 1 episode
|-
| ''[[Michael McIntyre's Big Show]]''
| Guest
| [[BBC One]]
| 1 episode
|-
| 2019
| ''[[Emmerdale]]''
| Himself
| [[ITV (TV channel)|ITV]]
| 1 episode (cameo)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/tv/itv-emmerdale-fans-thrilled-chris-16486186|title=Emmerdale fans thrilled as Chris Kamara makes unexpected cameo in soap|last=McCoid|first=Sophie|date=25 June 2019|website=liverpoolecho|access-date=3 December 2019}}</ref>
|-
| 2020
| ''[[BBC's New Year's Eve|The Big New Year's In]]''
| Guest
| [[BBC One]]
| One-off special
|-
| rowspan=2|2021
| ''[[Ted Lasso]]''
| Himself
| [[Apple TV+]]
| 3 episodes
|-
| ''[[Code 404]]''
| Himself
| [[Sky Comedy]]
| 1 episode (Season 2, Episode 1)
|-
| rowspan=2| 2022
| ''[[Cash in the Attic]]''
| Presenter
| [[Channel 5 (British TV channel)|Channel 5]]
| <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/entertainment/cash-in-the-attic-channel-5-chris-kamara-newsupdate/|title=Cash in the Attic reboot comes to Channel 5 with new host Chris|website=radiotimes.com|access-date=5 October 2022}}</ref>
|-
| ''Chris Kamara: Lost for Words''
| Himself
| [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]
| Documentary<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/programme/b-ofi57h/chris-kamara-lost-for-words/|title=Chris Kamara: Lost for Words|website=radiotimes.com|access-date=8 October 2022|archive-date=8 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221208081641/https://www.radiotimes.com/programme/b-ofi57h/chris-kamara-lost-for-words/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
| 2023
| ''[[The Masked Singer (British TV series)|The Masked Singer]]''
| Ghost
| [[ITV (TV channel)|ITV]]
| Unmasked in episode 1
|-
|}

==Other work==
In September 2000, [[Chris Kamara's Street Soccer]] was released for the [[PlayStation (console)|PlayStation]], for which Kamara provided both commentary and some basic motion capture for player animation, with the concept of the game pre-dating the [[EA Sports]]' ''[[FIFA Street (2005 video game)|FIFA Street]]'' series. He was also a commentator for 2005's ''[[This Is Football]]'', alongside [[Peter Drury]].

Kamara was formerly the chairman of the panel which chooses the [[Football League Championship Manager of the Month]] award,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/1940366.warnock-wins-manager-month-award/|title=Warnock wins manager of the month award|website=Lancashire Telegraph|date=3 January 2008 |language=en|access-date=3 December 2019}}</ref> but left the role for the beginning of the [[2009–10 in English football|2009–10]] season.

===Charity work===
Kamara was inducted into the [[Show Racism the Red Card]] Hall of Fame in 2004.<ref>{{cite web|title=Biography|url=http://www.srtrc.org/about/hall-of-fame?bio=100|work=srtrc.org|access-date=17 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202232144/http://www.srtrc.org/about/hall-of-fame?bio=100|archive-date=2 December 2013}}</ref> As a player, he suffered years of severe racial abuse.<ref>{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=104}}</ref>

Since May 2010 Kamara has been a national ambassador for [[Marie Curie (charity)|Marie Curie]], fronting the Charity of the Season partnership with the Football League in 2010/2011. In December 2011 he received 'The Above & Beyond in Memory of Sir Bill Cotton award' for his contributions to the charity.<ref>{{cite web|title=Marie Curie awards honour volunteers|url=http://www2.mariecurie.org.uk/en-GB/Media/Press-releases-and-comments/Marie-Curie-awards-volunteers-at-National-Volunteer-Achievement-Awards/|work=mariecurie.org.uk|access-date=17 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160113135606/http://www2.mariecurie.org.uk/en-GB/Media/Press-releases-and-comments/Marie-Curie-awards-volunteers-at-National-Volunteer-Achievement-Awards/|archive-date=13 January 2016}}</ref> He and a team of Football League ambassadors, including [[Brendan Rodgers]], [[Aidy Boothroyd]], and Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson, managed to raise £385,000 for the charity and to climb to the peak of [[Mount Kilimanjaro]]. Kamara became an Ambassador of the [[Special Olympics Great Britain]] Organisation in April 2011 after taking part in the Special Olympics Unity Cup as a celebrity partner before the [[Germany national football team|Germany]] v [[Argentina national football team|Argentina]] quarter-final match in [[Cape Town]], during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.<ref>{{cite web|title=Chris Kamara at National Unified Football Competition|url=http://www.specialolympicsgb.org.uk/news-media_news-stories/?archive=1&aID=303|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120815061817/http://www.specialolympicsgb.org.uk/news-media_news-stories/?archive=1&aID=303|archive-date=15 August 2012 |work=specialolympicsgb.org.uk|access-date=17 November 2013}}</ref>

===Singing career===
Kamara released a charity single entitled ''Sing 4 England'' in 2012 as [[List of England football team songs|England's officially sanctioned tournament song]] for [[UEFA Euro 2012|Euro 2012]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Unbelievable!|url=http://www.thefa.com/England/News/2012/fa-back-england-song-110512|archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20120512154141/http://www.thefa.com/England/News/2012/fa-back-england-song-110512|archive-date=12 May 2012|publisher=The Football Association|access-date=17 November 2013}}</ref>

In November 2019, he released his debut album, ''[[Here's to Christmas]]'', which reached number 8 in the charts.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/westlife-cement-their-comeback-as-new-album-spectrum-debuts-at-number-1-we-cant-believe-it-__27792/|title=Westlife's comeback album debuts at Number 1: 'We can't believe it!'|publisher=[[Official Charts Company]]|date=22 November 2019|access-date=3 January 2020}}</ref> He released a second Christmas album, ''And a Happy New Year'', on 27 November 2020.<ref>{{cite web |title=Chris Kamara to "save" Christmas with new album And A Happy New Year |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/chris-kamara-to-save-christmas-with-new-album-and-a-happy-new-year__31239/ |publisher=Official Charts Company |access-date=17 August 2022 |date=14 October 2020}}</ref>

On 1 January 2023, he appeared as the character "Ghost" on the fourth series of ''[[The Masked Singer (British TV series)|The Masked Singer]]'', singing "[[Save the Last Dance for Me]]". He was the first contestant to be unmasked and eliminated.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nottinghampost.com/news/nottingham-news/itv-masked-singer-unmasks-chris-7986074 | title=ITV the Masked Singer unmasks 'legend' but fans knew who it was | date=2 January 2023 }}</ref>

===Books===
In April 2010, Kamara published ''Mr Unbelievable''; the autobiography focuses on his football career and how it led to football punditry.{{citation needed|date=November 2023}}

On 9 November 2023, Kamara's second autobiography titled ''Kammy'' was published. In the book, Kamara recounts his tough upbringing, his time as a football player and time spent as a football manager.{{citation needed|date=November 2023}}

==Personal life==
Kamara married Anne on 29 May 1982; the couple have two sons.<ref>{{harvnb|Kamara|2011|p=169}}</ref>

In April 2021, Kamara was diagnosed with an [[underactive thyroid]], after experiencing "brain fog" during an interview on ''[[The One Show]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Martin |first=Kerry |date=14 April 2021 |title=Chris Kamara shares underactive thyroid diagnosis |url=https://uk.news.yahoo.com/news/chris-kamara-underactive-thyroid-diagnosis-160453521.html |access-date=11 November 2023 |website=Yahoo! News}}</ref> In a September 2022 podcast interview with ''[[Joe (website)|FootballJOE]]'', he spoke of his struggle with speech problems before he was diagnosed in March 2022 with [[speech apraxia]].<ref>{{cite tweet|user=FootballJOE|author=FootballJOE|number=1569319416118087680|title="I feel a fraud. I don't bring to the table what I used to."<br/>In this deeply moving clip, @chris_kammy opens up on his battle with the speech disorder apraxia|accessdate=16 September 2024}}</ref> In December 2022, he spoke of "suffering in silence" for 20 months before his underactive thyroid was diagnosed.<ref>{{Cite web |date=13 December 2022 |title=Chris Kamara on apraxia diagnosis: 'I suffered in silence for 20 months' |url=https://www.itv.com/news/calendar/2022-12-13/kamara-suffering-with-balance-issues-and-weakness-due-to-thyroid-issue |access-date=11 November 2023 |website=[[ITV News]] |quote=Speaking to ITV News ahead of a documentary about his condition, Kamara – known to millions by his nickname "Kammy" – said he wanted his experience to be a warning to other people. He said: "Initially I was in denial. I'm a dinosaur. I suffered in silence for about 20 months and in that time my thyroid gland became virtually non-existent, so that could be the reason for all my problems along the line, by just not going to see a doctor. Now not only have I got an underactive thyroid, the apraxia of speech has come on, my balance is no good, I'm really weak.'}}</ref> He announced in April 2021 that he would be stepping back from sports presenting,<ref>{{Cite web |date=30 April 2022 |title=Broadcaster Chris Kamara to leave Sky Sports at end of season after 24 years |url=https://www.itv.com/news/calendar/2022-04-30/chris-kamara-to-leave-sky-sports-at-end-of-season-after-24-years |access-date=12 November 2023 |website=ITV News |quote=Broadcaster Chris Kamara has announced he will leave Sky Sports at the end of the season after 24 years. The 64-year-old presenter and former Leeds United footballer recently revealed he'd developed a speech apraxia disorder alongside an existing thyroid issue. 'My long career at Sky Sports has never felt like work. I've spent 24 terrific years at Sky, and leave with the best of memories,' Kamara said in a statement. 'My time on Soccer AM, Goals on Sunday and, of course, on Soccer Saturday with Jeff has been - to coin a phrase - unbelievable. I've had the time of my life, and look forward to tuning in every Saturday as a fan.'}}</ref> but continued to work as a presenter. In 2022, he was the subject of an [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] documentary, ''Lost for Words''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hattenstone |first=Simon |date=4 November 2023 |title=Football pundit Chris Kamara on losing his voice – and finding himself: 'I thought the game was up'|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/nov/04/football-pundit-chris-kamara-on-losing-his-voice-and-finding-himself-i-thought-the-game-was-up |access-date=11 November 2023 |website=The Guardian}}</ref>

==Career statistics==
===As a player===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition<ref>{{ENFA}}</ref>
|-
!rowspan="2"|Club
!rowspan="2"|Season
!colspan="3"|League
!colspan="2"|[[FA Cup]]
!colspan="2"|[[EFL Cup|League Cup]]
!colspan="2"|Other{{ref label|Other|A|}}
!colspan="2"|Total
|-
!Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|rowspan="3"|[[Portsmouth F.C.|Portsmouth]]
|[[1975–76 Football League|1975–76]]
|[[Football League Second Division|Second Division]]
|24||4||0||0||0||0||0||0||24||4
|-
|[[1976–77 Football League|1976–77]]
|[[Football League Third Division|Third Division]]
|39||3||4||1||1||0||0||0||44||4
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!63!!7!!4!!1!!1!!0!!0!!0!!68!!8
|-
|rowspan="5"|[[Swindon Town F.C.|Swindon Town]]
|[[1977–78 Football League|1977–78]]
|Third Division
|40||10||3||0||6||1||0||0||49||11
|-
|[[1978–79 Football League|1978–79]]
|Third Division
|28||2||3||2||5||0||0||0||36||4
|-
|[[1979–80 Football League|1979–80]]
|Third Division
|34||5||6||1||6||0||0||0||46||6
|-
|[[1980–81 Football League|1980–81]]
|Third Division
|45||4||2||1||5||0||0||0||52||5
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!147!!21!!14!!4!!22!!1!!0!!0!!183!!26
|-
|Portsmouth
|[[1981–82 Football League|1981–82]]
|Third Division
|11||0||0||0||3||1||0||0||14||1
|-
|rowspan="5"|[[Brentford F.C.|Brentford]]
|[[1981–82 Football League|1981–82]]
|Third Division
|31||5||3||0||0||0||0||0||34||5
|-
|[[1982–83 Football League|1982–83]]
|Third Division
|44||11||3||0||7||0||3{{efn|name=FLGC|Appearances in [[Football League Group Cup]]}}||0||57||11
|-
|[[1983–84 Football League|1983–84]]
|Third Division
|38||6||3||1||4||0||1{{efn|name=FLT|Appearances in [[EFL Trophy|Football League Trophy]]}}||0||46||7
|-
|[[1984–85 Football League|1984–85]]
|Third Division
|39||6||4||1||4||1||6{{efn|name=FLT}}||1||53||9
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!152!!28!!13!!2!!15!!1!!10!!1!!190!!32
|-
|rowspan="4"|[[Swindon Town F.C.|Swindon Town]]
|[[1985–86 Football League|1985–86]]
|[[Football League Fourth Division|Fourth Division]]
|20||1||0||0||0||0||2{{efn|name=FLT}}||0||22||1
|-
|[[1986–87 Football League|1986–87]]
|Third Division
|42||3||2||0||4||0||8{{efn|Four appearances in [[EFL Trophy|Football League Trophy]] and four in [[EFL League One play-offs|Third Division play-offs]]}}||0||56||3
|-
|[[1987–88 Football League|1987–88]]
|Second Division
|25||2||3||0||5||0||3{{efn|name=FMC|Appearances in [[Full Members' Cup]]}}||0||36||2
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!87!!6!!5!!0!!9!!0!!13!!0!!114!!6
|-
|rowspan="3"|[[Stoke City F.C.|Stoke City]]
|[[1988–89 Stoke City F.C. season|1988–89]]
|Second Division
|38||4||3||0||2||1||1{{efn|name=FMC}}||0||44||5
|-
|[[1989–90 Stoke City F.C. season|1989–90]]
|Second Division
|22||1||1||0||2||0||2{{efn|name=FMC}}||1||27||2
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!60!!5!!4!!0!!4!!1!!3!!1!!71!!7
|-
|rowspan="4"|[[Leeds United F.C.|Leeds United]]
|[[1989–90 Football League|1989–90]]
|Second Division
|11||1||0||0||0||0||0||0||11||1
|-
|[[1990–91 Leeds United A.F.C. season|1990–91]]
|[[Football League First Division|First Division]]
|7||0||0||0||2||0||0||0||9||0
|-
|[[1991–92 Leeds United A.F.C. season|1991–92]]
|First Division
|2||0||0||0||1||0||1{{efn|name=FMC}}||0||4||0
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!20!!1!!0!!0!!3!!0!!1!!0!!24!!1
|-
|rowspan="3"|[[Luton Town F.C.|Luton Town]]
|[[1991–92 Luton Town F.C. season|1991–92]]
|First Division
|28||0||1||0||0||0||0||0||29||0
|-
|[[1992–93 Football League|1992–93]]
|First Division
|21||0||0||0||2||0||2{{efn|name=AIC|Appearances in [[Anglo-Italian Cup]]}}||0||25||0
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!49!!0!!1!!0!!2!!0!!2!!0!!54!!0
|-
|[[Sheffield United F.C.|Sheffield United]] (loan)
|[[1992–93 Sheffield United F.C. season|1992–93]]
|[[Premier League]]
|8||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||8||0
|-
|[[Middlesbrough F.C.|Middlesbrough]] (loan)
|[[1992–93 Middlesbrough F.C. season|1992–93]]
|Premier League
|5||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||5||0
|-
|[[Sheffield United F.C.|Sheffield United]]
|[[1993–94 Sheffield United F.C. season|1993–94]]
|Premier League
|16||0||1||0||0||0||0||0||17||0
|-
|[[Bradford City A.F.C.|Bradford City]]
|[[1994–95 Football League|1994–95]]
|Second Division
|23||3||2||0||3||0||2{{efn|name=FLT}}||1||30||4
|-
!colspan="3"|Career total
!641!!71!!44!!7!!62!!5!!31!!3!!778!!86
|}
{{notelist}}

===As a manager===
{| class=wikitable style="text-align: center"
|+ Managerial record by team and tenure
|-
!rowspan=2|Team
!rowspan=2|From
!rowspan=2|To
!colspan=5|Record
|-
!{{abbr|P|Matches played}}!!{{abbr|W|Matches won}}!!{{abbr|D|Matches drawn}}!!{{abbr|L|Matches lost}}!!{{abbr|Win %|Win percentage}}
|-
|align=left|[[Bradford City A.F.C.|Bradford City]]
|align=left|27 November 1995
|align=left|6 January 1998
{{WDL|112|40|26|46|decimals=1}}
|-
|align=left|[[Stoke City F.C.|Stoke City]]
|align=left|22 January 1998
|align=left|8 April 1998
{{WDL|14|1|5|8|decimals=1}}
|-
!colspan=3|Total<ref>{{Soccerbase manager|id=284|name=Chris Kamara}}</ref>
{{WDLtot|126|41|31|54|decimals=1}}
|}

==Honours==
===As a player===
'''Brentford'''
*[[Football League Trophy]] runner-up: [[1985 Football League Trophy Final|1985]]

'''Swindon Town'''
*[[Football League Fourth Division]]: [[1985–86 Football League|1985–86]]
*[[Football League Third Division]] play-off winner: [[1986–87 Football League|1986–87]]

'''Leeds United'''
*[[Football League Second Division]]: [[1989–90 Football League|1989–90]]

'''Individual'''
*[[Swindon Town F.C.|Swindon Town]] Player of the Season: [[1979–80 Football League|1979–80]]
*[[Stoke City F.C. Player of the Year|Stoke City Player of the Year]]: [[1988–89 Stoke City F.C. season|1988–89]]

===As manager===
'''Bradford City'''
*Football League Second Division play-off winner: [[1996 Football League Second Division play-off Final|1996]]

===General===
Kamara was appointed [[Member of the Order of the British Empire]] (MBE) in the [[2023 New Year Honours]] for services to association football, anti-racism and charity.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=63918|supp=y|page=N20|date=31 December 2022}}</ref>

He was awarded the Freedom of the City of Wakefield, at [[County Hall, Wakefield]], West Yorkshire, on 15 May 2024.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://mg.wakefield.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=221&MId=15965 | title=Agenda for Council on Wednesday, 15 May 2024, 2:00 pm | date=15 May 2024 }}</ref>

==See also==
* ''[[Chris Kamara's Street Soccer]]'', a 2000 video game

==References==
'''General'''
*{{citation|last1=Kamara|first1=Chris|first2=Colin |last2=Young |title=Mr Unbelievable |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TY2qOAjxnzoC |publisher=HarperSport|year=2011|isbn=978-0-00-736317-9|ref={{harvid|Kamara|2011}}}}

'''Specific'''
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
*{{Soccerbase}}
*{{Soccerbase manager|id=284}}
*{{IMDb name|id=1377131}}

{{Navboxes
| title = Awards
| bg = gold
| fg = navy
| list1 =
{{Swindon Town F.C. Player of the Year}}
{{Stoke City F.C. Player of the Year}}
{{Brentford F.C. Player of the Year}}
{{Brentford F.C. Hall of Fame}}
}}
{{Navboxes
| title = Managerial positions
| list1 =
{{Bradford City A.F.C. managers}}
{{Stoke City F.C. managers}}
}}

{{Authority control}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2025}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kamara, Chris}}
[[Category:1957 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Black British sportsmen]]
[[Category:Bradford City A.F.C. managers]]
[[Category:Bradford City A.F.C. players]]
[[Category:Brentford F.C. players]]
[[Category:English association football commentators]]
[[Category:English Football League managers]]
[[Category:English Football League players]]
[[Category:English football managers]]
[[Category:English men's footballers]]
[[Category:English people of Sierra Leonean descent]]
[[Category:Footballers from Middlesbrough]]
[[Category:Leeds United F.C. players]]
[[Category:Luton Town F.C. players]]
[[Category:Members of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Men's association football defenders]]
[[Category:Men's association football midfielders]]
[[Category:Middlesbrough F.C. players]]
[[Category:Portsmouth F.C. players]]
[[Category:Premier League players]]
[[Category:Royal Navy sailors]]
[[Category:Sheffield United F.C. players]]
[[Category:Sky Sports presenters and reporters]]
[[Category:Sportspeople of Sierra Leonean descent]]
[[Category:Stoke City F.C. managers]]
[[Category:Stoke City F.C. players]]
[[Category:Swindon Town F.C. players]]
[[Category:Welshpool Town F.C. players]]