Chris Kamara made football return at 54 after Stelling dig but got battered 6-1
Chris Kamara made his football return at 54 to help an ailing club who were ridiculed by Jeff Stelling – but they still lost 6-1.
Kamara, now 65, shook the cobwebs off his football boots to come to Welshpool's aid against Rhayader in 2012, despite retiring in 1995, the BBC revealed. The ex-midfielder's return came after Sky Sports presenter Stelling, Kamara's co-host, goaded Welshpool following their 10-1 walloping at the hands of Waterloo Rovers.
But the Welsh club's boss David Jones wasn't amused by Stelling's bashing and emailed Sky to explain that Welshpool were recovering from a difficult time after nearly going bankrupt, prompting the media giants to send Kamara over to help the strugglers in their next match. Kamara declared his return to the pitch on Twitter and said: "After 17 years retirement I am back, move over Scholes & Henry."
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However, Kamara acknowledged he was making a bonkers decision and scoffed: "[I] must be mad". But unfortunately for Welshpool, the presence of the former Leeds United star wasn't enough to inspire them to victory, and they were thumped 6-1 by Rhayader.
But despite the scoreline. Jones was impressed with Kamara's input and revealed that the ex-Stoke City boss shared pearls of wisdom before and throughout the game. Jones said: "Chris played really well. He's still very fit.
"He gave us a team talk before the game and at half-time and he was talking to the lads throughout the match. We got back into it early in the second half, but Rhayader ran away with it in the end."
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But Jones conceded that it was the last time Kamara would play for Welshpool, or anyone else for that matter, although he had to sign a contract with the club to get the green light to play the match as his last club was in England – and he needed international clearance from the Football Association of Wales to play. Jones added: "Chris said he enjoyed it, but there are no plans for him to play again for us."
After his brief stint for Welshpool, Kamara returned to his role as a presenter where he coined the term "unbelievable Jeff", but had to step back from the role due to his battle with Apraxia of Speech last year that left him struggling to speak. But despite his fight with the illness, Kamara raised awareness about the disease in an ITV documentary Chris Kamara: Lost For Words, and his bravery led to the popular host being awarded an MBE in the New Year Honours List.
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