Hoping for wild card entry into HT GIFA, team keeps morale up

Supa Strikas is hoping to get back in the race through online voting after it lost a pre-qualifier match on August 20.

Supa Strikas, a football team representing two residential societies in Indirapuram and Vasundhara, is hoping to get back in the race in Hindustan Times Great Indian Football Action (HT GIFA) tournament through a wild card entry. The team had lost 3-4 in the pre-qualifier match held on August 20.

The 11-member Supa Strikas team had lost the pre-qualifier match held on August 20. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

With over 30 teams participating from Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon and Ghaziabad, HT GIFA is the most awaited and the biggest inter-locality football tournament in Delhi-NCR.

There are 11 members in Supa Strikas, all under 14 years of age. The team members are residents of ATS Advantage apartments in Vaibhav Khand, Indirapuram and Olive County apartments in Sector 5, Vasundhara.

With the option available to get back in the HT GIFA race through online voting, the team is optimistic of gathering the most votes to gain the wild card entry.

“This is the first time that we are playing football at such a level. Losing out saddened us, but after learning that we can get back in through voting, all team members are working very hard to gather a large number of votes to win the wild card entry,” said Aashish Gaikwad, captain of the Supa Strikas football team.

People can vote for their favourite teams in the tournament online by logging on to www.htgifa.hindustantimes.com/voting/ . The voting lines close on September 10.

“We have put up posters in our societies in Indirapuram and Vasundhara to get a large number of votes. Our family members and friends are also spreading the word through social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp,” said Utkarsh Sheoran, mid-fielder.

Meanwhile, team manager Mohammad Ujaley said HT GIFA has helped the players learn a lot.

“Before the team played at HT GIFA, they had not been exposed to such a platform. After playing in the pre-qualifiers, they have learnt their mistakes and their strengths and seen what competition they have out in the world, all thanks to HT GIFA,” said Ujaley.