Ciudad Juárez hosts free Xocerball Americup 2026 matches

JUÁREZ, Chihuahua (KVIA) -- The Xokerball AmeriCup 2026 kicked off Wednesday with 16 national soccer teams set to play in Ciudad Juárez all week.

The tournament began at 9 a.m. and an opening ceremony will take place at 8 p.m. Following the ceremony, there will be a featured match between Mexico and the U.S.

This soccer federation tournament, which will be held for the first time in the border region of Juárez and El Paso, has already taken place in other Mexican cities, and even in some South American and European countries.

The tournament will feature national teams from Mexico, the United States, Canada, Brazil, Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Guatemala, Haiti, Bolivia, Paraguay, the Dominican Republic, and Belgium.

The matches began today and will continue until Sunday, when the finals will be played.

The president of the Xokerball Federation, Sergio Ibarra Molina, a native of Juárez, told ABC-7 he's happy the Americup is happening here because he wanted to bring this type of event to the border for the community.

"I'm from Juárez, and I don't expect anything different from what I've always experienced: warm, friendly, and enthusiastic people who believe in the projects we're seeing and, above all, who embrace us," Ibarra said. "We rarely have the opportunity to hold these kinds of events, and I'm sure the people of Juárez will embrace it as their own and take ownership of it. I have no doubt that the people of Juárez will react in a responsible and warm manner."

Juárez and the Xokerball Federation say it's not easy to bring events like this one home, and want this to be the first test of many to come.

"When we tried to promote the event, we didn't sell Juárez, we sold the region along with El Paso, the unique and different appeal of the border, the lifestyle and the community that exists here," Ibarra said. "The way of life here creates a bit of unease for others who live in other parts of the world, and when we brought it up, they didn't understand."

Both Xokerball and the city of Juárez invite the binational community to watch the free matches, located at the big Juárez red ‘X,’ next to the border.

"I hope people enjoy it, that they have a different experience, that they leave here happy and say, 'I didn't expect this,'" Ibarra said. "If we can bring out that side of people, mission accomplished."

"Beyond the sporting aspect, I want people to see that it's an organized event, a safe event, an event where anyone from the region can come together without any divisions, and where the rest of the world can see what this region is really like; unique, that we present a true image of life here, and that people from other countries say they didn't expect this from Juárez."

ABC-7 also spoke with the Mexico National Xokerball team head coach, Sergio López, with some of his players and with former Mexican pro-soccer player, Jonny Magallón.

The Mexico team has won this cup back-to-back in the past two years and for this year's edition, the goal is clear: be champions again for the third time.

You can click here for more information about the event.