Supa Strikas

Supa Strikas is a South African association football-themed comic about a titular football team dubbed "the world's greatest." Despite their enormous talent, the players must adapt in a game where being the best is only the beginning and where the opposition is always full of surprises. The Supa Strikas comic prints 1.4 million copies per month in 16 countries. Supa Strikas also appeared on Caltex and Texaco as an ad. The franchise was acquired by Moonbug Entertainment in 2019 and later sold to Disney India in 2020.

The comic's global headline sponsor is Chevron, (the Caltex and Texaco brands appear on Supa Strikas' match and training apparel), with other headline sponsors including Visa, Guaranty Trust Bank and Henkel. Partner sponsors also feature depending on region, including Grassroot Soccer, Metropolitan Life, Spur Steak Ranches, Visa, South African National Roads Agency, and MTN amongst others.

Sponsors exposure includes perimeter boards in-game scenes, product placement / engagement (e.g. the team often eats at KFC in the South African edition), and full-page advertisements. It is currently sponsored by KFC and Old Mutual in South Africa.

History and development

Supa Strikas was founded by Andrew Smith, Oliver Power, Lee Hartman, and Alex Kramer Supa Strikas was originally created by a South African company but that relationship only lasted a few months. After it was bought by a South-African company, it became, like all successful comics, an exercise in making money out of fandomRoy of the Rovers. Afterward publication spread to various sub-Saharan African countries. By 2002 publications in the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana, Zambia. Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda soon followed.

The comic receives sponsorship from several companies, including Nike, Caltex, and other South African businesses. Consequently, the sponsoring firms have their product names placed on various panels.

The series was based on the life of Thuthuka "Terry" Zwane, a boy from the Soweto area of Johannesburg. With demand for the comic growing increasingly global, Supa Strikas’ core characters remained local, but a more international cast grew around them, including characters of Asian, Latin American and European extraction.

The periodic comic was available across Africa (South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Mauritius, Réunion, Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon and Egypt); Latin America (Colombia, El Salvador, Panama, Brazil, Honduras, and Guatemala); Europe (Norway, Sweden, Finland) and Asia (Malaysia and the Philippines).

The comic has also been adapted into an animated series by Animasia Studios. The series debuted in 2009 with 47 episodes – each with approximately 22 minutes of run-time – and aired in selected regions until 2010.

The titular soccer team adventure through the world of soccer in their bid to win the Super League trophy in their country, dubbed in their stadium "Strikaland." On their way across the globe, the team explores the roots of the game (from Mexico to China), meets its most extraordinary past and present players, and confronts the most unscrupulous coaches and players from their rival teams.

The story centers around the team's young striker, Shakes, whom many believe is the best striker in the world. Shakes and his teammates, however, consider the acclaim as a mere beginning. The game's global legacy and the players who dream of being crowned Super League champions mean Shakes must constantly challenge himself to remain in contention. As a result, he often finds himself spearheading the team's exploration of the unknown – be it a strange land, a strange opposition, or a new soccer challenge.

The stories in Supa Strikas combine humor (often in the form of the characters Spenza and El Matador as the comic relief), action, technology, and exploration in the context of a real soccer challenge. In addition, the stories are usually positive life messages that deal with self-actualization, fair play, teamwork, and respect.

Characters

Shakes

Shakes is a Supa Strikas striker who is from South Africa, he wears a number 10 jersey, though he is seen wearing a number 19 jersey in "Rookie Season". He is the main character of the series, and is especially well-known for his "bicycle kick", which he was taught by his dad when he was a child. Shakes has light brown skin and spiky black hair. He can be quite humorous at times, and loves soccer with all his heart. When things go wrong or something unusual happens, he usually figures out what is going on, but most of the time he is not believed until the end. In Rookie Season, we see that he was 16 years old then and has a mom and younger sister. His best friend was Skarra, a now striker for Invincible United, who ironically is now his sworn enemy. Shakes is considered one of the best players in the Super League, along with El Matador and Twisting Tiger.

El Matador

Carlos El Matador nicknamed El Matador, is a striker for Supa Strikas from Spain who wears the number 20 jersey. He is the most expensive player in the Super League. He tends to be melodramatic, and he is often seen wearing aqua sunglasses. He is also known as 'Fighter'. El Matador is incredibly self-absorbed, being the wealthiest player on the team. He owns two gold Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560–4, one Coupe and one Spyder, both nicknamed "Bruno." His other cars include a purple Lamborghini roadster with red chrome, a black and silver two-tone Rolls-Royce Ghost, a silver Nissan GT-R NISMO, a bright green McLaren 570S, a blue Cadillac Coupe de Ville, and a red Aston Martin One-77. He likes to live a lavish lifestyle. El Matador is regarded as one of the best players in the Super League and is one of the highest-scoring players. He use his head efficiently.

Automatic

Automatic is the fourth midfielder of the team he accompany Dancing Rasta with jersey number 24. He is known for his amazing throw and great defending technique.

Klaus

Klaus is a player from Germany who wears the number 2 jersey. Klaus has long blonde hair. In some episodes, he was seen playing as a defender and midfielder. Klaus has excellent passing techniques and terrorizes tired opposition defense as a super substitute. He puts on a vulnerable and comical facade to lower the opponents' expectations of his playing, yet he is dead serious when scoring goals. Klaus tends to sneeze when nervous. His favorite food is strudel. Klaus always buys his Aunt Hilda presents from every city Supa Strikas visits. He is addicted to the Inspector Von Spector series and believes that the butler is always guilty. He is also selfish sometimes and gets angry for small things. He is the third Striker of the team.

Dancing Rasta

Fabian Skhosana, also known as "Dancing Rasta", is the 30-year-old captain of Supa Strikas from Jamaica. He is a seasoned mountaineer and stands tall at 1.94m. Fabian wears the number 9 jersey and is highly respected for his captaincy skills, especially when facing tough opponents like Dooma or Johann Uber. He is a very polite and motivational leader who does not harm others without a valid reason. Most fans regard him as the greatest captain in the Super League. The other teammates also refer to him as "Captain". Despite his fear of clowns, also known as coulrophobia, he still takes his children to the circus. He has an animated personality and often ends his sentences by addressing others as "man". For instance, instead of calling Shakes by his name, he calls him "Shakes Man", which is similar to the genie in Aladdin. He is having great defence technique.

Big Bo

Bojack "Big Bo" Anderson is a 28 year old character who is the main goalkeeper and vice-captain of Supa Strikas. Big Bo wears the number 1 jersey. He is often claimed as the greatest goalkeeper in the league, even better than De Los Santos. He is from Liddleton, Texas, and Supa Strikas is his 3rd team. He has won many awards as a goalkeeper. Before joining Supa Strikas, Big Bo accidentally injured the former Grimm FC player Spike "Awesome" Dawson out of his soccer career. Dawson refuses to accept Big Bo's apology and is obsessed with getting his revenge on Big Bo. He stands at 2.01 m. He is the greatest Goal-Keeper of the Super league.

Twisting Tiger

Twisting Tiger is a right-footed winger and midfielder from Japan who wears the number 16 jersey. He previously played for Nakama FC. He is known for his accurate shooting and is one of the best players in Supa Strikas. Twisting Tornado and the upside-down Twisting Tornado are his signature moves. Twisting Tiger learned Japanese football style from his former coach Ura Giri. His former teammate, Miko Chen of Nakama FC, is his best friend. Tiger is known to be the quickest player on the field and zooms past other players with ease. He believes that his lucky charm helps Supa Strikas in their matches. Unfortunately, he broke his arm, and this is seen with bandages.

Cool Joe

José "Cool Joe" Garcia is a Brazilian left-wing midfielder who wears the number 7 jersey. Known as the "king of crossing" following his excellent crosses, also known for his spins, which helped the team to score many goals. He also has a flair for disco music, crediting one record for giving his "groove" during the game. Cool Joe also owns a disco club known as Cool Joe's. He has five signature spins: "The left spin, the right spin, the backspin, and the topspin" that are unpredictable in the field. The fifth spin, the corkscrew, is very different from the rest as it was developed by a table tennis champion, Chill John. He is a keen observer

North Shaw

Nathan "North" Shaw is an Australian player who is a first-choice defender alongside Blok and Eagle Eye. He wears the number 8 jersey. His personality is described as a surfer who owns a beach shop and rides 'gnarly' waves. North Shaw has deeply tanned skin, and he sports a blonde afro hairstyle and eyebrows. His signature move is 'The Slide,' sliding to retrieve the ball from the opposition's feet. He is enemies with Liquido of Hydra FC. He can be used as Midfielder.

Blok

Miroslav "Blok" Rybar is North Shaw's defensive partner who wears the 55 jersey. He is from the fictional country of Brislovia, named after Bratislava and Slovakia. He is nicknamed "Blok," following his ability to "block" the ball very well. He is rather quiet, which is in stark contrast with his rather talkative teammates. However, most people cannot understand him when he speaks because he communicates almost exclusively in Brislovian, though he understands English. Blok's brother, Josef "Attak" Rybar, plays as a striker for FC Technicali.

Eagle Eye

Eagle Eye is the main defender of Supa Strikas and wears the number 4 jersey. He is called Eagle Eye for he has sharp eyes that allow him to intercept the strikers from scoring. Eagle Eye is a native American from Las Vegas and used to play for FC Cosmos. He is close with the other young defenders, North Shaw and Blok. He has a high ability to score long-range goals. Eagle Eye is the oldest player in Supa Strikas. He can bake the ball back at any situation and give it to the desire player.

Lankey

Lankey is a substitute striker for El Matador, hailing from Australia. He is very tall and skinny and wears the number 23 jersey. He is a bit nervous when he gets the ball but always tries to do his best as a striker.

Griz

Griz is a substitute defender for North Shaw and wears the number 6 jersey. He has a tendency to vomit out of fear or nervousness about intense matches. He has orange hair and sometimes wears a headband. He is still a capable defender.

Rizo

Rizo is a substitute midfielder mostly for Rasta or any of the wing midfielders, or sometimes even the forwards. He wears the number 3 jersey. He is not like other substitutes, because he is very serious in his game.

Aldo

Aldo was another player in Supa Strikas with jersey number 19. He is a spare midfielder who is also capable of playing but is not good at shooting or defending, leading to him not seeing the field.

Noah Murdoch

Noah is the substitute goalkeeper for Big Bo with jersey number 13. He is a solid keeper but he is usually injured by the opposition. He is a very good guy

Coach

David Ledige is the coach of Supa Strikas hailing from South Africa. He is often deemed to be the greatest coach in the Super League. Coach is also considered one of the greatest players of all time, played for Supa Strikas wearing the number 10 jersey during his younger days, and has a reputation for playing in all positions. Coach has been inducted into the Museum of Soccer and two other great players, Edwin and Golare. He is strongly notable for his tactics and his strategies.

Spenza

Spenza is Shakes's childhood best friend and a superfan of Supa Strikas. As a private investigator, he often helps Supa Strikas solve their problems on the field, particularly on sabotages from rival teams. He is always seen wearing a white hat and a magnifying glass at hand, and he loves to eat. He was a mechanic in earlier days.

Supa Fran Francheska

Francheska, also known as Supa Fran, is a supporting character in seven episodes who appears to be Spenza's girlfriend. She is a huge fan of El Matador and Dancing Rasta. She appears in the episodes "El Sound of Silencio," "Dooma's Day," "The 12th Man", "Hot Property," "With Fans Like These," "Greetings From Sunny Feratuvia," "The Crunch," and "Game Over." She once rallied fans of Supa Strikas to gather outside the stadiums when they got unfairly banned from a match due to violence.

Mac

Mac is an Argentinian commentator for soccer games, who formerly played in the Super League as a defender. His personality is a being crazy and delusional.

Brenda

Brenda is Mac's co-commentator from Portugal. Brenda is much more mature than Mac but joins in the craziness at times. She appears in all the episodes from season 2.

Jacques Cousteau

Jacques Cousteau is a French chef working for Supa Strikas. He is annoyed at his job with Supa Strikas because he could not show his culinary skills and was forced to cook diet food.

Albert

Albert is Big Bo's loyal butler. He makes a minor appearance in "Big Bo Lockdown", but in "Big Bo to Go" and "Scare Tactics", he makes a major appearance when he helps the protagonist.

Formation

Supa Strikas play with 11 men. Their formation is 1-2-1-2-2-1-2.

The Supa Strikas formation is as follows: 1. Big Bo ( Goalkeeper ) 4. Eagle Eye ( Defender , Right back ) 55. Blok ( Defender , Left back ) 8. North Shaw ( Defender , Centre Back ) 9. Dancing Rasta ( Right Midfielder , Captain ) 7. Cool Joe ( Midfielder , Left Winger ) 16. Twisting Tiger ( Midfielder, Right Winger ) 24.Automatic ( Forward Defender , Left Midfielder , Central Forward , Striker ) 2. Klaus ( Central Forward , Striker ) 10. Shakes ( Striker ) 20. El Matador ( Striker )

Substitutes

23. Lankey (Striker) 19. Aldo (Midfielder) 3. Rizo (Midfielder) 6. Griz (Defender) 13. Noah Murdoch (Goalkeeper)

Episodes

(NOTE: These episodes are related to T.V. series)

Teams

These are the teams in the Supa Strikas series. Teams include:

Invincible United

Invincible United are a bad team and are also the main antagonists from South Africa of Italian origins. They are Supa Strikas's biggest rivals. They were the best team, yet also the meanest and most dishonest, in the Super League. Their coach is Vince, the lead striker is Skarra and the current captain is Dooma. Skarra and Shakes were once best friends, until they both tried out to join Supa Strikas but only Shakes qualified. Starting from Season 3, Episode 39, and Season 5, Skarra was replaced by Dooma as the team's captain due his pride preventing him from doing actual teamwork. Invincible United players are Dingaan, the team of Snake and their goalkeeper, The Web. Their home stadium is called The Vice, with a capacity of 60,000. The Façade and the general design of The Vice is based upon the Colosseum in Rome.

FC Technicali

FC Technicali is a team from Los Angeles, United States. Their coach is 'The Inventor' Toni Vern. Their lead striker and the captain is Chuck T Chipperson. John J Johnson Junior is the team's lead midfielder, and Benedict B. Bradley is their goalkeeper. Other known players of the team are Thaddeus Tarrington III, Kyle Kowalski, Rocky George and Blok's Brother Attak. The team uses technology during games and is one of the most notorious cheaters in the Super League, after Invincible United. FC Technicalli's home stadium is Technical Stadium, sometimes referred to as The Hub, and has a capacity of 68,000.

Cosmos FC

Cosmos FC hails from Las Vegas, United States. Their coach is Buddy Watkins, who owns the Buckingham Palace Hotel in Las Vegas. Their lead players are Ninja, an offensive player, and Bolo, a defensive player. Other team players are the team's captain Emilio, Scissors, Jag, and goalkeeper Keller. Their stadium is The Universe with a capacity of 70,000.

Azul FC

Azul FC is a team from Mexico and is loosely based from Cruz Azul. Their manager is Honcho Gomez. Their best player and captain is goalkeeper De Los Santos, known for his remarkably huge size and ability to easily save almost every ball. Other players include Tomas, Santiago, Leonardo, Estevez, and Pablo. Their home is called Aztec Stadium, based on Aztec Stadium with a capacity of 55,000.

Clube Palmentieri

Clube Palmentieri is a team representing Brazil. The team is based on Palmeiras in São Paulo. The team's style of play is The Palma Way (probably inspired by The Samba Style), taught by the team's legend, Edwin, who in later episodes is their coach. They have good accuracy, speed, and balance and are known as the Samba Kings. The lead striker and captain of Palmentieri is Don Aldo (based on great striker Ronaldo de Lima). Other known players are Rick, Cruz, Melo, Felipe, and goalkeeper, Julio (based on Júlio César). Their home stadium is the Ramba Stadium, with a capacity of 100,000.

Barka FC

Barka FC is a team representing Spain located in Barcelona and is loosely based on FC Barcelona. Their lead striker and the captain is Riano, a fair and honest player, based upon Ronaldinho. Their legendary players are Golare (named after Pep Guardiola) and El Ariete, who is now a header coach. Other known team players are Bolito, Enrique, Jordi, Mendez, Paulo and goalkeeper, El Barerra. Barka's home ground is called Faux Camp (based on Camp Nou), and its capacity is 65,000.

Orion FC

Orion FC is a French team based in Paris. The team's specialty is airborne play. Their coach, Professor Black, is crazy about space observation and exploration. Orion's lead striker is Andre Meda. Other players include Max and Stax Spacek, Ben Schwarma, Niell Sagan, and their goalkeeper, D'etoile Phinus. Their home stadium is called The Soccersphere, with a capacity of 65,000. The basement of The Soccersphere has a zero-gravity chamber, which Shakes stumbles upon.

Hydra FC

Hydra FC represents France. They are known as the fastest team in the Super League. The team is also noted for using technologies on playing matches, tilting the stadium when needed, which qualifies as cheating. Their coach is Alfredo Del Aqua, and Giorgio Liquido is the team's lead midfielder. The team's captain is Skipper, and its goalkeeper is The Plug. Other known players of the team include Shane Fin, Ripple White, and Joe Mamoa. Hydra's stadium is called the Floating Stadium as it is built on an ocean. The stadium has a capacity of 40,000.

Iron Tank FC

Iron Tank FC is a team from Germany, and its players are made up of former and active members of the Bundeswehr. Their coach is Colonel Von Pushup, their lead defender and the captain is Johann Uber, their lead striker is Thor, their lead midfielder is Von Eye, and their goalkeeper is The Mangler. Other known players of Iron Tank are Ja Nein a tech-savvy player, who often tricks and hypnotizes his teammates, and Erin, a substitute player. The team is considered the strongest and most formidable that the Super League has ever seen. Their home stadium is called The Fortress Stadium, the 4th biggest stadium after Goliath Stadium, Ramba Stadium, and Strikaland, with a capacity of 75,000. The stadium is located high in the Alps, constantly covered in snow. While playing in The Fortress Stadium, opposition players and match officials wear unique clothing, and a bright red-orange ball is used. The high altitude creates a natural home ground advantage due to opposition players sometimes experiencing nausea and other symptoms of altitude sickness.

Colossus FC

Colossus FC is the team from Greece. The team's name is reflected in the size of the players, often vast and colossal. Their coach is Nick Kickalopolous (Greek: Νικ Κικκαλοπολους), and Demitrius is the team's central striker. Other players include Bemus, Parseus, Hermes, Achilles, and their goalkeeper, Titan. Their stadium is the Olympic Stadium and the stadium capacity is 65,000.

Nakama FC

Nakama FC is the team representing Japan. The team is composed of karate and ninjutsu practitioners. Nakama's coach is Ura Giri (Japanese: ウラギリ), who publicly supports discipline and fair play and has even made the motto, "Honor and Trust,"; but in reality, he resorts to dirty play when his team could be defeated. Their lead striker is Miko Chen. Other known players of Nakama are Yugiro, Shinji, Keita, Kylo, Eddy Nakamura, Enzo Honda, Goji Ao, and their goalkeeper, Kendo. Nakama FC is Twisting Tiger's former team. The team's stadium is Ga Shuku Stadium and has a capacity of 70,000.

Sultans FC

Sultans FC represents the United Arab Emirates. They are the wealthiest team in the Super League. The team's former star players were the Amal 3, Aziz, Akbar and Alam. Upon their signing, the Amal 3 were the most expensive footballers in the Super League. Sultans' lead striker and captain is Zoom Zahir. Other players include Eduardo, Erikson, Duval and their goalkeeper, Fast Farouk. Their coach is Sheikh Ali Zaman (Arabic: علي زمان), a wealthy royal. The team is also known for often tricking people into unfair games and competition. Sultans home stadium is the Goliath Stadium, with a capacity of 150,000, in the middle of the desert. Sultans thrive and play their best in the heat, which gives them home ground advantage over other teams who are less tolerant to the increased temperature.

Grimm FC

Grimm FC is Romanian team located in Feratuvia. Their coach is Coach Belmont, and the team's lead midfielder and captain is Vladimir Savich from Serbia. Their former player and legend also one of the most popular player who thinks That Big Bo Finished his career is Spike "Awesome" Dawson from the United States. Other known team players are Scully Molder, Bones Jones, Rip Staples, Sloan Wolff and goalkeeper, Franklin Stein. Grimm FC often uses Halloween tricks to scare the oppositions. The team's most prized possession is a book called the Tactanomicon, written by the team's former coaches. Grimm FC's home stadium is called The Cauldron, with a capacity of 40,000.

Cognito FC

Cognito FC is an English team from Manchester. Their lead striker is Judge Caleb, an English footballer. Other players include Archie Tipp, Rory Shanks, Karl Young, Udi Pass, and their goalkeeper, Pavlov Jashin. Their coach is In-Yo, the only female coach in The Super League. In-Yo has a bitter-sweet past experience with Twisting Tiger and his ex-teammate Miko Chen. Their stadium is The Headquarters, with a capacity of 75,000. They have only appeared in two episodes, 'Hot Property' and 'Mind Over Matador.'

Sa Ming United

Sa Ming United is a team from China. They only appeared in the first two seasons. They are considered as one of the weaker teams in the league. Their lead striker is Sa Ma Wee (Korean: 사마위) from South Korea.

FC Lokomotiv

FC Lokomotiv is a team from Russia and is based on FC Lokomotiv Moscow. This team has appeared only once during the match against Azul in 'Communication Blok.' This team is very much unknown and has not faced Supa Strikas in any episodes and it once appeared on the episode when they were coached by "Ndinani Jako" from South Africa.

Littleton FC

Littleton FC is Big Bo's former team. They only appeared in two episodes, 'Big Bo To Go' and 'Own Ghoul.'

FC All Star

FC All-Star is an all-star team consisting of lead players from the teams faced by Supa Strikas. The team captain is Skarra. This team only appeared in the final episode of Season 2, 'Bringing Down the House'. It consists of all the best players on super league.

There team consist of 11 players which include:

De Los Santos(goalkeeper) (Azul FC), Ninja (Cosmos FC), Bolo (Cosmos FC), Johann Uber (Iron Tank FC), Miko Chen (Nakama FC), Don Aldo (Clube Palmentieri), Giorgio Liquido (Hydra FC), Andre Meda (Orion FC), Riano (Barka FC), Skarra (captain) (Invincible United)

See also

• South African comics

External links

• Template:Url
• Supa Strikas Kenya - Official Mobi Site (Offline)
• Strika Entertainment Corporate Website
• Supa Strikas Official YouTube Channel