Sofapaka are on the verge of making history. Formed in 2004, the Nairobi based club is close to winning the Kenyan Premier League (KPL) title on their maiden attempt.

Their fairytale run from winning last year’s Nationwide League title to clinching top tier honours on their very first campaign echoes the amazing triumph of German club side FC Kaiserslautern who romped to the Bundesliga title in 1998.

Then under the famous coach, Otto Rehhagel, the German club earned promotion to the top flight and went on to lift the ‘plate’ eclipsing giants such as Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen, Borrusia Dortmund, Schalke 04, Stuttgart and Werder Bremen.

Unlike Sofapaka’s case, Rehhagel’s outfit had earned re-promotion to Bundesliga after being relegated in 1996 where they are still playing to date.

With victory or a draw against Red Berets this afternoon, Sofapaka will be crowned KPL champions and should they falter, a point in their last match against KCB or a loss for titleholders Mathare tomorrow at Western Stima will see Robert Matano’s charges open the champagne bottle.

Established by Congolese national Elly Kalekwa to cater for street children, Sofapaka’s rise to the KPL apex has taken a streetwise approach — win when you have to and if not, fight for a point.

For them, losing has been an exception, not the norm on their maiden top-flight journey.

Sofapaka have made Nairobi their fortress and despite not winning away fixtures Matano’s charges maintained consistency as close rivals stuttered.

Their only victory away from Nairobi came at Awendo where they beat Sony Sugar 1-0.

At the beginning of the season, they kept close tabs on early pace setters Western Stima and when they ran out of gas, Matano’s side assumed the mantle with James Nandwa’s Tusker FC playing the closest challenger role. Title holders, Mathare were embroiled in a false start to their title defence after losing their top marksman, Francis Ouma then to Tanzania’s Azam and midfield dynamo, Austin Makacha who left for Sweden.

Expensively assembled by Kalekwa’s deep pockets that brought the likes of striker John Baraza, Tom Juma (midfield), Jacob Keli (forward), Sofapaka stuck to basics as they meticulously, not clinically, dispatched their rivals.

Their 1-0 win over Mathare last month extinguished any hopes Francis Kimanzi’s side had of overhauling the title candidates and although they lost to resurgent Gor 1-0 in the run-in, Sofapaka had done enough to silence skeptics and prove they were smart money for the crown.

Champions United will be hoping for a second place finish when they play Stima tomorrow in Kakamega.

It is the only hope that the champions have considering that catching up with Sofapaka may not be possible.

It will bring to an end a great resurgence in form by Kimanzi’s lads considering that just one month ago they were not even candidates for a top five finish.

Meanwhile, as every player and fan knows, until the final whistle is heard around the stadium, anything is possible.

Some of the most incredible chapters in the history of the game have been written by teams that refused to let their heads drop and Agro Chemical striker Dan Matengo is optimistic his team would survive the axe and bounce back to challenge for the trophy next season.

For Agro Chemical and their striker Matengo, 180 minutes of football played today and November 21 stand between them and a ticket to next season’s top-flight football.

"We are not going down. I know we are in treading on thin ice as the league nears the end, but we have a chance and we are going to take it.

"I don’t know what went wrong in the team, because we have a very strong side, but there is no time to look at the past because we have an urgent issue to tackle and we are going to handle it effectively. We are going to play the last two matches as if it was a World Cup final," said Matengo.

Agro who finished third last season and their tactician Henry Omino won the coach of the

year prize at the KPL gala are currently in an awkward last position with two matches to go. They have 23 points from 28 matches and even if they win their last two fixtures, they can only amass a total of 29 points, a point shy of relegation rivals AFC Leopards, hoping that Leopards lose the last two matches.

With this fact, Agro can only overtake Red Berets and Bandari who have 27 points and 26 points and as they host rivals Chemelil Sugar this afternoon, they will also be monitoring Red Beret’s clash with league leaders Sofapaka in Nakuru and Bandari’s

match against Sher Karuturi in Mombasa.

If Berets beat Sofapaka today, it would have sealed Agro Chemical’s fate as the Paramilitary side would have leaped to 30 points which is beyond Agro’s reach and their final match against Leop ards on November 21 would just be a formality.

The last time Agro met with neighbours Chemelil who are based just 10km apart, Chemelil emerged 3-0 winners, but Matengo believes the same would not be possible this time round.

Bandari also have to win against Sher Karuturi today to ease their pressure when they face league champions Mathare United on the final day.

Berets have a mountain to climb against leaders Sofapaka today, but their coach Caleb Okuku has vowed to spoil the party for the league debutants.

A win would be a yardstick for Berets in their campaign to avoid relegation, but their final fixture against Nairobi City Stars will also be crucial because they are still within Bandari’s striking range. AFC Leopards as well cannot afford to pop the champagne yet.