The unifying power of football Over the years, Mr. Kabirou, a farmer, occasionally attended cross-border soccer matches, and saw how the game shrank the distances between the two communities.

SAN DIEGO – It is just after 6 a.m. when Ivan Chavez leaves his mother’s house in Tijuana, Mexico, a backpack slung over his shoulder and soccer shoes ready on his feet. The border crossing ...

Cross-border leagues will need to be looked at again in a wider debate of soccer economics, according of Jonas Baer-Hoffmann, general secretary of the global players’ union network FIFPRO.

"The people living near the border always have bonds with each other. It could be family, work or sports. But soccer is always the most interesting part for us." ...