2022–23 Liga Primera de Nicaragua

The 2022–23 Liga Primera de Nicaragua season was to be divided into two tournaments, Apertura and Clausura. The season will determine the 79th and 80th champions in the history of the Liga Primera de Nicaragua, the top division of football in Nicaragua. The Apertura tournament is to be played in the second half of 2022, while the Clausura is to be played in the first half of 2023.

Liga Primera de Nicaragua
Season2022–23
ChampionsApertura:
Real Estelí
Clausura:
Real Estelí
RelegatedJuventus Managua
CONCACAF Central American CupReal Estelí
Diriangén
Matches played196
Goals scored459 (2.34 per match)
Top goalscorerApertura:
Brazil Lucas dos Santos
(16 goals)
Clausura:
Colombia Arly Bonilla
(15 goals)
Biggest home winApertura:
Juventus Managua 9–0 Ocotal
(1 December 2022)
Clausura:
Diriangén 5–1 CS Sebaco
(21 April 2023)
Biggest away winApertura:
TBD 3-5 TBD
Clausura:
Juventus Managua 0–7 Real Esteli F.C.
(6 April 2023)
Highest scoringApertura:
TBD 4-8 TBD
Clausura:
Juventus Managua 0–7 Real Esteli F.C.
(6 April 2023)
All statistics correct as of 28 June 2022.

Teams

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Team information

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A total of ten teams contested the league, including nine sides from the 2021–22 Primera División, and one side from the 2021–22 Segunda División.

Real Madriz finished last in the aggregate table and were relegated to the Segunda División. The champions from the Segunda División, Matagalpa FC, were promoted in their place.

The 9th place team in the aggregate table, ART Jalapa, faced the second-place team from the Segunda División, CD Junior, in a playoff for a spot in the Primera División. ART Jalapa won 4–3 over two legs, meaning ART Jalapa remained in the Primera División.[1]

Promotion and relegation

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Promoted from Segunda División as of June, 2022.

Relegated to Segunda División as of June, 2022.

Stadiums and locations

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Team Location Stadium Capacity
ART Municipal Jalapa Jalapa Estadio Alejandro Ramos Turcio 2,000
Diriangén Diriamba Estadio Cacique Diriangén 8,500
Juventus Managua Estadio Olímpico del IND Managua 7,000
Sport Sébaco Matagalpa Estadio Municipal de Matagalpa 1,800
Managua Managua Estadio Nacional de Fútbol (UNAN) 15,000
Ocotal Ocotal Estadio Roy Fernando Bermúdez 7,000
Real Estelí Estelí Estadio Independencia 4,800
Matagalpa Matagalpa Estadio Municipal de Matagalpa 1,800
UNAN Managua Managua Estadio Nacional de Fútbol (UNAN) 15,000
Walter Ferretti Managua Estadio Nacional de Fútbol (UNAN) 15,000

Personnel and kits

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Team Chairman Head Coach Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor(s)
ART Municipal Jalapa TBD   Luis Javier Londoño *   Bernardo Laureiro * Keuka AT&T
Diriangén TBD   Roberto Armando Chanampe *   TBD Macron AT&T
Juventus TBD   Alexis Zepeda *   Jhans Mina * Keuka AT&T
HYH Sebaco TBD   Glen Blanco *   Luis Galeano * Keuka AT&T
Matagalpa TBD   Oscar Castillo *   Rodolfo Forbes * Keuka AT&T
Managua TBD   Emilio Aburto *   Kevin Serapio * Keuka AT&T
Ocotal TBD   Nelson Vasquez *   TBD Keuka AT&T
Real Estelí TBD   Ramon Otoneil Olivas *   Josué Quijano * Keuka AT&T
UNAN Managua TBD   Eduardo Urroz *   Anderson Tremio * Joma AT&T
Walter Ferretti TBD   Luis Diaz *   Denis Espinoza * Keuka AT&T

News

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Shirt sponsorship

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Keuka agreed to sponsor 8 teams in the Liga Primera (2 teams not being sponsored is Diriangén and UNAN Managua) starting in the Clausura 2023. [2]

Managerial changes

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Pre-season Apertura 2022

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Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Replaced by Date of appointment Position in table
Ocotal   Mario Alfaro Contract Ended June 2022   Nelson Vásquez June 2022 TBD (Apertura 2021)
Diriangén   Tyrone Leiva Contract Ended May 2022   Roberto Chanampe June 2022 TBD (Apertura 2021)
Real Estelí   José Luis Trejo Montoya Contract Ended July 2022   Ramon Otoneil Olivas July 2022 TBD (Apertura 2021)

During the Apertura season

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Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Replaced by Date of appointment Position in table
Matagalpa FC   Oscar Castillo [3] Sacked August 2022   Sting Fabricio López August 2022 TBD (Apertura 2022)
Managua FC   Juan Cortez Sacked August 2022   Emilio Aburto August 2022 TBD (Apertura 2022)

Pre-season Clausura 2023

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Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Replaced by Date of appointment Position in table
Managua   Emilio Aburto Contract Ended December 2022   Flavio Da Silva December 15, 2022 TBD (Apertura 2022)
ART Municipal Jalapa   Luis Javier Londono Contract Ended December 2022   Carlos Javier Martino 28 December 2022 TBD (Apertura 2022)
HYH Sebaco   Glen Blanco Contract Ended December 2022   Héctor Medina December 28, 2022 TBD (Apertura 2022)
Matagalpa FC   Sting Lopez Contract Ended December 2022   Glen Blanco January 3, 2023 TBD (Apertura 2022)
Deportivo Ocotal   Nelson Vasquez Contract Ended December 2022   Sting Lopez January 3, 2023 TBD (Apertura 2022)

During Clausura 2023

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Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Replaced by Date of appointment Position in table
Municipal Jalapa   Carlos Javier Martino Sacked February 22, 2023   Ricardo Gaitan February 2023 TBD (Apertura 2022)

Apertura 2022

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Finals

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Quarterfinals

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H&H Sebaco0-5Managua
Nil Kevin Serapio   15'
Oscar Soto   33'
Angel Velásquez   36'
Agenor Báez   64'
Diego Arceo   75'
Estadio Municipal de Matagalpa , Matagalpa

Managua progressed.


Deportivo Walter Ferretti5-1Juventus Managua
Francisco Ramos   9'   56'
Luciano Sanhueza   68'   80'
Alexis Somarriba   90'
Lucas Dos Santos   75'
Estadio Cacique Diriangén, Diriamba

Walter Ferretti progressed.

Semi-finals

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Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Walter Ferretti 4-3 Diriangén 2–3 2-0
Real Estelí 2-0 Managua 0-0 2–0
Walter Ferretti1-1Diriangén
Francisco Ramos   60' Junio Arteaga   68'
Estadio Independencia, Esteli

Diriangén1-1Walter Ferretti
Junio Arteaga   116' Ezequiel Ugalde   91'
Estadio Cacique, Diriamba

2-2 on aggregate, Walter Ferretti won 5-3 on penalties.

Managua0-0Real Estelí
Nil Nil
Estadio Cacique, Diriamba

Real Estelí2-0Managua
Douglas Caé   66'
Harold Medina   73'
Nil
Estadio Independencia, Esteli

Real Estelí won 2-0 on aggregate.

Final

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First leg
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Walter Ferretti2-3Real Estelí
Francisco Ramos   28'
Luciano Sanhueza   57'
Douglas Caé   36'   81'
Ewerton Bezerra   50'
Estadio Cacique Diriangén, Diriamba
Referee: Erick Lezama
Second leg
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Real Estelí1-2Walter Ferretti
Harold Medina   50' Yeison Mosquera   62'
Ronald Lopez   66'
Estadio Independencia, Esteli
Referee: Willer Lopez

4-4 on Aggregate. Real Esteli won 4-3 on penalties


 Apertura 2022 champions 
Real Estelí
19th title

Clausura 2023

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Standings

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Diriangén (Q) 18 12 3 3 36 19 +17 39 Advance to Playoffs
(Semifinals)
2 Real Estelí (Q) 18 10 5 3 37 19 +18 35
3 Managua (Q) 18 8 5 5 26 23 +3 29 Advance to Playoffs
(Quarterfinals)
4 Walter Ferretti (Q) 18 7 5 6 26 24 +2 26
5 Matagalpa (Q) 18 7 4 7 19 19 0 25
6 Deportivo Ocotal (Q) 18 7 3 8 24 24 0 24
7 UNAN Managua 18 5 5 8 24 25 −1 20
8 Municipal Jalapa 18 5 4 9 21 30 −9 19
9 H&H Export Sébaco FC 18 5 4 9 21 32 −11 19
10 Juventus Managua 18 3 4 11 19 38 −19 13
Updated to match(es) played on 2 May 2023. Source: [4]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored; 4) head-to-head points; 5) head-to-head goal difference; 6) head-to-head goals scored; 7) draw.
(Q) Qualified for the phase indicated

Finals

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Quarterfinals

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Managua3-1Deportivo Ocotal
Brian Calabrese   26'
Henry Nino   48'
Doslin Garcia   69'
Yubeiquer Arenas   7'
Estadio Nacional de futbol , Managua

Managua progressed.


Deportivo Walter Ferretti1-1Matagalpa
Ezequiel Ugalde   40' Rodolfo Forbes   25'
Estadio Nacional de futbol , Managua

Matagalpa progressed, winning 9-8 penalties.

Semifinals

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Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Diriangén 5-0 Matagalpa 2–0 3-0
Real Estelí 3-3 (pen 4-3) Managua 1-0 2–3
Matagalpa0-2Diriangén
Nil Carlos Torres   39'
Luis Fernando Coronel   52'
Estadio Independencia, Esteli

Diriangén3-0Matagalpa
Junio Arteaga  
Carlos Torres Frobes
Dshon Frobes  
Nil
Estadio Cacique, Diriamba

Diriangén won 5-0 on aggregate.

Managua0-1Real Estelí
Nil Juan Barrera   23'
Estadio Cacique, Diriamba

Real Estelí2-3Managua
Douglas Caé   66'
Harold Medina   73'
Douglas Caé   66'
Harold Medina   73'
Estadio Independencia, Esteli

3-3 on aggregate, Real Esteli won 4-3 on penalties.

Final

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First leg
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Real Estelí0-0Diriangén
Nil [5] Nil
Estadio Independencia, Estelí
Referee: Willer Lopez
Second leg
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Diriangén0-3Real Estelí
[6] Harold Medina   41'   92'
Byron Bonilla   49'
Estadio Cacique Diriangén, Diriamba
Referee: Ricardo Mendoza

Real Esteli won 3-0 on Aggregate


 Clausura 2023 champions 
Real Estelí
20th title

List of foreign players in the league

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This is a list of foreign players in the 2022–23 season. The following players:

  1. Have played at least one game for the respective club.
  2. Have not been capped for the Nicaragua national football team on any level, independently from the birthplace

A new rule was introduced this season, that clubs can have four foreign players per club and can only add a new player if there is an injury or a player/s is released, and it is before the closing of the season transfer window.

  (player released during the Apertura season)   (player released between the Apertura and Clausura seasons)   (player released during the Clausura season)

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