YouTube Originals has commissioned a new animated series from Moonbug Entertainment and UNICEF based on the popular Supa Strikas IP. Supa Strikas: Rookie Season will launch on the brand’s YouTube channel and the YouTube kids app.

The first six episodes of this 12-part prequel series will be released on December 3, with the rest airing in the new year. The soccer-focused show will reveal the origin story of star striker Shakes and how he came to join the titular team. It will be available in English, Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish, German and Russian.

The original Supa Strikas animated series is based on a South African comic book that was first published by Strika Entertainment in 2001. Eight years later, the publisher expanded the IP into animation with a 78 x 22-minute action-comedy toon for seven- to 11-year-old boys. Now in its seventh season, the Supa Strikas series is available in more than 100 countries and 27 languages worldwide. 

When Moonbug acquired the property in 2019, it announced plans to produce additional content the following year.