Supa Strikas This football comic was a favorite of Nigerian children in the 2000s

On a Saturday morning in the humid city of Lagos, a
young Shegs Okoro leaves the flat he shares with his
mother for the most important game of his career. He
will face his childhood rival, Aniekan , in a local cup
final, under the watchful eye of scouts from around
the country.

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For Shegs , the son of a late football legend,
expectations are high. The plan is simple; win the cup,
score some goals and hopefully convince everyone,
including scouts from the team his father played for,
that he can fill these big boots.
Over the next couple of hours (or pages, depending on
how you choose to look at it), Shegs scores a goal,
faces intentional attacks by Aniekan and the opposing
team and lifts the cup trophy. The club of his dreams
offer him a contract and so, the story begins.
No.

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This is not something out of the biography of a
Nigerian footballer, at least, not a real one. It is the
origin story of the iconic football comic, Supa Strikas.
For the millions of young people who enjoyed their
childhood in the period between the late 1990s and
the mid-2000s, there is no way to justly explain what
Supa Strikas was. I know this because I’m one of
them.
The first issue of the football comic was released in
stores across Nigeria in the year 2001, and in the
months that followed, it went from a visual story of
players with funky hair and strange names like Dancing
Rasta to a totem, a colorful symbol of youthful
imagination.
Because they could get it at Texaco branches, a lot
more teens became interested in being in and around
the fuel station on Saturdays when new issues
dropped. Monday mornings became an opportunity to
exchange new issues.

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Between those pages and the many adverts were the
things that made it appealing to its biggest fans;
football, everyone’s favorite underdog, Shegs; the
father-son relationship between Shegs and the team’s
coach; the understated rivalry between him and his
team’s other striker El Matador; the adventures they
had in nameless countries with very questionable
footballers.
The stories were unique yet familiar, the shape of his
hair is still an unanswered question, but every young
boy wanted to be Shegs.

____

I was one of those dreamers.
It is why Supa Strikas has a special meaning to every
90s baby; one that goes beyond beautifully drawn
pictures and goals that remind you of Shaolin soccer.