Elliot Ave-Lallemant, Staff Writer

Soccer made a return this week with the Powerhouse FIFA tournament, which happened from February 24-25. This two-day event was packed with unbelievable upsets, crushing defeats, and intense rivalries.  

But first, a bit of background on FIFA. Every year, Electronic Arts (EA) Sports releases a game about soccer called FIFA, with its name taking after the International Association Football Federation, or FIFA for short. FIFA gives players the chance to play as their favorite team or as the best players in the history of soccer. With almost 700 teams to choose from, players can play as teams from around the world, from the English Premier League to the Indian Super League. Players can even play as the fictional AFC Richmond from the hit TV show “Ted Lasso”! 

FIFA has been adored by fans, and many soccer clubs have set up smaller esports divisions to compete in online tournaments like the ePremier League. FIFA has been commended for its soundtrack, with some people saying iconic songs like “My Type,” “Love Me Again,” and “Song 2” were the soundtrack to their childhoods. 

But now, back to the tournament! The group stage allowed the competitors to build up wins with the hopes of making it to the knockout round. The rules were simple: any team, eight-minute halves, the top competitor going straight to the final, and the next two players going through to the semi-finals. Even though the tournament only had seven players, the games were intense and high-scoring. 

“All I can say is that it was sunny out there,” explains competitor Iftesham Sami’26 after an 8-0 loss in his first match. “They all had similar jerseys, man. They were wearing white and I was wearing light blue, and the sun was hitting. I couldn’t see which one I was playing.” In preparation for his next match, Sami was undeterred. “Of course I will [win]. Look at me cook him now.” He went on to lose 11-1. When asked about his run of bad form in the tournament, Sami stated “This time I’m winning. I’m just promoting that everyone should be positive.” While his positive attitude was maintained throughout the tournament, he would eventually go on to lose his next two games 11-1 and 9-0, ending his run with a bottom-table finish and a goal differential of -52 (Goal differential being the number of goals scored minus the number of goals conceded).

Other players weren’t going to let a loss ruin their chances. “Tough loss.” reflects Moosa Faisal Sherwani’26 after a narrow defeat, “In the last second I had one more corner and they just didn’t give it. But it’s the first game, and I’ve got five more games to go. I’m winning the tournament.”

All of the competitors were optimistic going into the knockout stages. When asked about his upcoming semi-final, tournament organizer Ankit Acharya’26 responded with confidence. “The final tomorrow. I think I’m gonna win the whole thing. To Moosa, I’d say that he’s trash, to Riaz, I will say see you in the finals. I know he beat me in the regular season, but in the finals, I’m gonna best him. Moosa got lucky against me, but tomorrow is a two-legged semi-final, and I know I’m gonna beat him there.” 

Other competitors like Moosa were keeping a cool head, reassuring me that he was easily going to win. “It’s light work. Riaz is also gonna be tough, but you know who’s gonna win tomorrow.” 

When asked how he was feeling about his final, tournament leader Riaz Pradhanang’25 simply said that it was just another regular game of FIFA for him. “I’m there to win. I’ve not lost, what makes you think I will lose? There’s nothing that suggests that I’m gonna lose.”

Unfortunately, scheduling conflicts stopped the rest of the tournament from happening, so we can only imagine what could have happened. Nonetheless, the group state was still thrilling to watch. Looking for more FIFA? Look no further than the new FIFA Fridays, hosted in the Powerhouse from 9:00-11:00 p.m.!