By Oscar Pilipili

Nairobi’s Black Mamba Sports Club, which has produced some of the best teams is on the verge of death.

Their football team that caused ripples in the Kenya Football Federation top-flight league in 1980s was their flagship.

Mamba men’s handball team, that is the only remaining facet of the organisation, is reeling in poverty, forcing officials to send distress calls every time they are lined up for a tournament.

Their only source of income is a toilet they acquired from Nairobi City Council (NCC) under a contract.

Under the agreement, the team’s players manage the toilet and share daily charges with the NCC. They charge Sh10 per entry.

Mamba, who finished third overall in last year’s national league, lack own training venue as they use an open ground whose future is uncertain.

The space that was previously a parking lot has turned into a dumping site and potential grabbers are shamelessly hovering around it.

Chairman Ezra Olack is now calling on well-wishers and to step in and save the club that has transformed the youth and helped them realise their potential.

"Most of our players are students and, for that matter, they expect their needs to be taken care of by us," he told Feverpitch on Saturday in Nairobi yesterday.

Olack said the morale of the players is at its lowest since they are not paid for the services they offer to the club.

"We’re worried about the future of the club because the current generation of players are not patient and cannot face challenges," he said.

german coach

"They operate under difficult conditions especially in away matches where up to eight of them share a single room," he said.

Kenya Handball Federation secretary-general, Charles Omondi, was among the pioneers of the handball team.

Omondi said: "A German coach said in 1998 that Mamba have a bright future and this has come to pass with the team producing some of the best players in Africa."

Talent that was nurtured here include national women’s team captain Caroline Achieng of Kenya Ports Authority, Victor Oduol, Tom Odero and Mackenzie Mwathi, all of Ulinzi Stars.

The club’s chairman said they require Sh1.5m to comfortably participate in this year’s league.

He opined that the Government’s Constituency fund of Sh1m should not only target football but all sports.