Chris Kamara: Receiving MBE from Prince of Wales 'unbelievable'

Chris Kamara MBE, one of football's most popular figures, receives his honour from the Prince of Wales at Windsor Castle

Broadcaster and former footballer Chris Kamara has described receiving his MBE from the Prince of Wales as "unbelievable".

The 65-year-old, from Middlesbrough, was appointed for services to football, anti-racism and charity.

Kamara is known for his catchphrase "unbelievable Jeff" which he coined while working with Sky Sports.

He played for nine English clubs in a career spanning 20 years, before going on to manage Bradford and Stoke.

He received the honour with his family at a ceremony in Windsor Castle.

The pundit, known to many as Kammy, said he was "so pleased" to have met Prince William for the first time, revealing that the prince had written to him after he was named in the New Year Honours.

'Chatted football'

Reflecting on the day, he said: "Amazing, what a family occasion it has been to take my wife and my sons Ben and Jack to Windsor Castle to see my investiture.

"Does it get any better? It's great.

"I got a letter from the prince to say congratulations and I just thanked him for that letter and he said it's well-deserved and long overdue, so coming from His Royal Highness, that's amazing.

"We chatted football, of course, we chatted about that letter and he asked how I was, which was overwhelming that Prince William is asking me how I am."

After his managerial career Kamara became a pundit and presenter on Sky Sports where he became a popular fixture on Soccer Saturday.

One famous incident where he missed a sending off at a game he was reporting from live at the ground was parodied in a tweet from Kensington Palace.

Born in Middlesbrough of Sierra Leonean, English and Irish descent, Kamara served in the navy before joining Portsmouth for the first of two spells.

The former midfielder played more than 200 games across two spells at Swindon and also played for Brentford, Stoke, Leeds, Luton, Sheffield United, Middlesbrough and Bradford.

He has been involved in raising more than £3m for various charities over the years, including Show Racism the Red Card.

Chris Kamara was made an MBE in the New Year Honours

He has also appeared alongside fellow Teessider Steph McGovern on her Channel 4 show Steph's Packed Lunch, and presents Kammy and Ben's Proper Football Podcast on BBC Sounds, alongside Ben Shephard.

There was a huge outpouring of support for him on social media when he went public about his apraxia of speech diagnosis, saying he felt "a fraud" as a broadcaster having learned he had the condition.

A documentary called Lost For Words about Kamara coming to terms with the condition was broadcast in December.