CHRIS KAMARA: ‘I CAN’T WALK OR TALK THE SAME WAY – BUT I FEEL WONDERFUL’
Each week we ask a public figure to delve into their childhood, and look at how their early experiences influenced the man they grew up to be.
Chris Kamara, 67, is a former professional footballer, who went on to be the manager of Bradford City, before beginning a 24-year broadcasting career with Sky Sports. In 2022, he left Soccer Saturday and was diagnosed with the speech condition apraxia – a neurological condition that affects the brain pathways involved in producing speech.
He lives in Wakefield with his wife Anne. They have two sons – Jack and Ben – who live nearby, and four grandchildren, who are eight, seven, five and four. In 2023, Kamara was appointed MBE for services to football, anti-racism and charity.
I was surprised by the intensity of the love I feel for my four grandchildren. Life before grandkids seems impossible to imagine now, and once it happens, it’s the best thing in the world. You love your own kids, but at this time of life when your kids are working, and doing their own thing, just knowing that these little ones are part of your life is amazing. People say having grandchildren is easier than parenting because you can give them back – but we don’t want to give them back! Ours are at a great age where they can stay over, and we just hope they’ll want to keep being with us for as long as we are able to have them.
Parenting now is totally different to how it used to be. I was born in 1957 and my father was probably the complete opposite to the way my children are with their kids. If someone knocked at our door to say I’d done something wrong, my dad would always take their side. If I was in trouble at school, he’d always take the teacher’s side. And I used to think, ‘Why doesn’t he listen to my point of view?’ But it was very strict back then, and you respected authority, like teachers, rather than today where teacher’s opinions seem to be frowned upon. I like seeing how my children do things differently, and I appreciate the way they and their wives are with their kids. As a dad, I was probably somewhere in the middle of my dad, and my kids. Time moves on, and parenting approaches will be different in another 20 years when my grandkids are, hopefully, living as adults in a peaceful world.
Accepting my diagnosis [speech apraxia] was very hard. When the brain is switching off, you feel very sorry for yourself. I couldn’t get out of that depression, thinking about how I used to be, thinking I’m no good, that I’m going to be a burden. The biggest factor in helping me through that was people – my friends rallying around me, my family being there for me, everyone giving me so much support. I also saw a therapist who helped me immensely, and I went to Mexico for treatment, which has helped. I might not talk as quickly as I did before, or walk as quickly as I did before – I can’t run anymore – but once you accept who you are, it’s fine. I’m no longer chasing the old me, I accept the new me. It’s wonderful now, and I think back to how stupid I was to get all these dark thoughts. I now know I’ve got a second chance, another bite at the cherry, and I’m not going to look back.
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I’d never considered therapy before all this. I was a dinosaur. I didn’t speak to anyone about any part of my health. I played football for 20 years, and if I was slightly injured, I would never, ever go in and get the physio to have a look. I always used to think I could run it off. I climbed Kilimanjaro in 2010 and went to see my GP, and he said, “Well, given you’ve never been to see me in the 20 years you’ve been registered with me, I’m assuming you’re in good health.” But I don’t think that way anymore, that I don’t need help from anyone. It’s good to tell people what’s going on inside your head.
I don’t know how to use the dishwasher. If there are pots on the side, I wash them myself, with my hands! With washing clothes and stuff, I’m not being chauvinist here, but they come out different colours after I’ve done the washing. And they come out looking all wrong when I put them in the tumble dryer. So my wife doesn’t let me do the washing anymore. My job’s strictly outside the house. I do the garden, I put rubbish out. And we have a lot of animals – horses, sheep, chickens, cats – and I spend a lot of time with them. On Sundays, I’ll often get the pressure washer out and clean out the stables.
Football is a different game today. Since I finished playing in 1996, you see a lot of players feigning injury today. In my day, you only went down if you were really hurt. But fans today would say I’m a dinosaur, that I’ve had my time, that I’m thinking too much about the past. You’ve got to take the game as it is, and as a spectacle it’s still fabulous.
Chris Kamara is currently an ambassador for EDF’s Sunday Saver challenge, which gives customers up to 16 hours of free electricity on Sundays for shifting their electricity use away from weekday peak hours (4pm-7pm). Register interest in the next Sunday Saver challenge by 11:59pm on 24th December to enjoy eight hours of free electricity on Christmas Day
2025-12-07T10:54:22Z