He's back. Chris Kamara returned to our TV screens on Thursday as he joined Amazon Prime's punditry team for the Premier League clash between Nottingham Forest and Spurs – and his opening segment was a joy to watch.
The 67-year-old, who is affectionately known as Kammy, was diagnosed with Apraxia in 2022.
Apraxia is a neurological disorder that affects the brain pathways involved in planning the sequence of movements involved in producing speech. In short, the brain knows what it wants to say but cannot properly plan and sequence the required speech sound movements.
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Kamara was known by many for his work on Sky Sports' Soccer Saturday but after 24 years with the broadcaster, he stepped away at the end of the 2021/22 campaign.
"My long career at Sky Sports has never felt like work," he said at the time. "I've spent 24 terrific years at Sky, and leave with the best of memories."
After a lengthy spell on the sidelines, Kamara announced on December 16 that he would be making a welcome return to our screens for the much-anticipated game between Nottingham Forest and Spurs.
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, he said: "For those of you who missed the news last week, I'm delighted to be joining Prime's Boxing Day coverage, which includes eight games and over 10 hours of action.
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"I'll be at the City Ground for Forest v Spurs, reporting back to my old mate, the unbelievable Jeff Stelling, who will have every game and every goal. I'm so excited to be back and can't wait to be doing what I love most!"
More than a week later and Kammy was introduced to Amazon Prime viewers by great friend and fellow broadcaster, Jeff Stelling.
“I have got the best game of the day," he smiled. "When Amazon rang me up, I thought they wanted me to deliver parcels. But they sent me to the game! I'm great, Jeff. To get that call and for them to say I was getting this game was the biggest fill up ever."
Kamara, who has done an excellent job in spreading awareness of the condition Apraxia, recently opened up on dealing with his diagnosis.
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"I felt sorry for myself when the condition came along and I didn’t know what to do or how to cope with it," he said. "You have stupid thoughts. You think you’ve got Alzheimer’s or dementia. I didn’t want to be a burden to my family, so you think about taking yourself out of the game.
"Thankfully, all of those stupid thoughts have gone now and I’m working through it, on the mend. How could I ever have thought of not being in this world with my grandkids? I love them and I appreciate life.
"I didn’t understand mental health, I’ll be honest with you. If someone said there were a few problems at home or in their personal life which they’re down about, I would tell them wholeheartedly to get up, get on with it and just do it.
“Now, I realise that I was totally wrong. The majority of people who are genuinely honest and have depression, anxiety and have mental health problems need help as best as they possibly can. The start is talking to someone about it. I did that and it’s helped me immensely."
Topics: Tottenham Hotspur, Nottingham Forest, Premier League
Jack Kenmare