Walking into Patrick Henry on Nov. 5 was like walking into Superbowl Party. This, however, was a FIFA Tournament hosted as a service project by a group for their Communications Seminar class.

The 2016 FIFA tournament was held by a Communications Seminar group of Hayley Sawyer, Chris Mueller, Sarah Swiss, and Paul Wintruba. These seniors were assigned to organize an event and help out a non-profit, which is what this FIFA tournament was all about. For those who do not know what the game of FIFA is; it is a video game by EA Sports that allows players to choose teams and play in soccer’s biggest event: The World Cup.

“[FIFA] is one of the biggest video games out there as far as sports go,” says Sawyer, the group leader, “We wanted to pick something that would appeal to all the demographics at Robert Morris.”

When entering the space outside Hopwood Hall, two large TVs were set up along with game consoles and couches positioned in front. Refreshments of sandwiches and soda were provided. The group had a checklist of everything they had to provide for this assignment, and it had taken them the majority of the semester to plan and bring to life.

“We started planning when class started, and it took a long time,” said Sawyer, “[The professor] had given us a checklist of everything we had to do, so we just worked our way down the list.”

Their main reason for this event was to collect canned goods for the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. Mueller had called the non-profit and it had been more than willing to work with the group. Admission for the FIFA tournament was 3 canned goods, and everyone who attended contributed to the cause.

“We chose the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank because it is so close to the Thanksgiving holiday. We wanted to give as much as we could because it is that time of year, and people are going to need the food,” Sawyer went on to say.

Sitting outside of the event was an author, Larry Ivkovich, who was showcasing his books. Ivkovich is a science fiction, fantasy, and horror novelist who has written many books, such as: The Sixth Precept and Blood of the Daxas. Ivkovich has just sent the sequal to The Sixth Precept to his publisher. More information on Ivkovich can be found at inkfish1.wix.com/larryivkovichauthor.

When asked about the FIFA tournament he said, “I definitely think this a good way to support the food bank, with video games and sports being so popular these days.”

Overall, the event was a success. Although it was a tournament, there was no set winner because everyone was having too much fun. The group was thankful to anyone who showed up, and all the donations that were made to the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.