Pitches in Peril: Floods in Mathare
A new short film follows one player's return to the pitch that shaped him, and the community rebuilding around it.
In April 2024, floods swept through Mathare, one of Nairobi's largest informal settlements. Homes were destroyed, thousands of residents were displaced, and among the places lost was a community football pitch.
In Mathare, a football pitch matters more than the sport it hosts. It is a gathering place, a refuge, and a pathway to opportunity for young people with few other routes forward.
In our latest documentary, Pitches in Peril: Floods in Mathare, we follow a professional footballer, Meshack Ochiengo, as he returns to the pitch that shaped his childhood.
The pitch, before and after
Rock City pitch sits at the heart of Mathare. Meshack learned to play the game there and so did generations of young players before him, many using the pitch as their first step toward a professional career.
When the April 2024 floods hit, the pitch became something else entirely. Families fleeing rising water sought refuge on the grounds. Once the water receded, the pitch remained unusable for months. The routines that football provides were disrupted for an entire neighbourhood.
Across Kenya, 294 people died in the floods. In Mathare alone, more than 7,000 residents were displaced, and four lives were lost locally.
A climate story told through football
Pitches in Peril: Floods in Mathare is part of Football for Future's wider Pitches in Peril series, which examines how climate change is affecting football at every level, from World Cup stadiums to grassroots pitches.
This film tells a climate story through an unexpected lens: the world's most popular game. It shows how extreme weather is already reshaping daily life in one of Nairobi's most densely populated communities.
The film arrives ahead of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, which Kenya will co-host alongside Uganda and Tanzania. It raises a direct question for the football world: if football is one of the world's greatest forces for social good, what responsibility do we have to protect the places where the game begins?
Why this matters beyond Mathare
Grassroots pitches like Rock City rarely feature in conversations about climate risk. Attention tends to focus on major stadiums and international tournaments. The communities most exposed to climate hazards are often the ones with the fewest resources to adapt.
Protecting a single community pitch means protecting more than a playing surface. It means protecting the hope, belonging, and opportunity that a neighbourhood builds around it.
About the production
Pitches in Peril: Floods in Mathare was produced by Football for Future in partnership with DanChurchAid, local Mathare residents, and with climate data support from Jupiter Intelligence's ClimateScore Global.
The film premiered at the British High Commissioner's Residence in Nairobi in June 2026, bringing together government, football, and climate voices. In attendance were Hussein Muhammed, President of the Kenya Football Federation; Elijah Mwangi, Principal Secretary for Sports; Dr Joyce Kimutai, IPCC-certified climate scientist; Kerubo Momanyi, Women's Representative at the Kenya Football Federation, Victor Wanyama, and Meshack Ochieng himself.
The panel opened a conversation on grassroots pitch protection, climate adaptation funding, and infrastructure standards ahead of AFCON 2027. The event was supported by the British High Commission and DanChurchAid, alongside Football for Future.
