Primera Division is a men’s league competition in Nicaragua, with recorded coverage from the 2016 season through 2025. Use this page to follow live scores, upcoming fixtures, results and standings, alongside player and team statistics across the competition’s recorded seasons.
Upcoming matches, Primera Division
Apertura - 10
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- Apertura - 10
Walter Ferretti
Jalapa
-
- Apertura - 10
H&H Export
Matagalpa
-
- Apertura - 10
Rancho Santana
Managua
-
- Apertura - 10
San Marcos
Diriangén
-
- Apertura - 10
UNAN Managua
Real Estelí
Apertura - 11
-
- Apertura - 11
Diriangén
Walter Ferretti
-
- Apertura - 11
Matagalpa
Real Estelí
-
- Apertura - 11
Jalapa
Managua
-
- Apertura - 11
San Marcos
H&H Export
-
- Apertura - 11
Rancho Santana
UNAN Managua
Latest played matches, Primera Division
Apertura - 5
Apertura - 9
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Apertura - 9
San Marcos
3 - 1Jalapa
Apertura - 8
Primera Division Standings
Apertura
| Rank | Club | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Last 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Managua | 9 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 27 | 9 | 18 | 23 | DWDWW |
| 2 |
|
Diriangén | 9 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 18 | 7 | 11 | 21 | WWDWW |
| 3 |
|
Real Estelí | 9 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 17 | 6 | 11 | 18 | DDWWL |
| 4 |
|
UNAN Managua | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 17 | WLLWW |
| 5 |
|
San Marcos | 9 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 12 | -3 | 11 | WLWWL |
| 6 |
|
H&H Export | 9 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 17 | -8 | 11 | LLDLL |
| 7 |
|
Matagalpa | 9 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 16 | -12 | 9 | LWLWW |
| 8 |
|
Walter Ferretti | 9 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 12 | 16 | -4 | 7 | LDLLW |
| 9 |
|
Rancho Santana | 9 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 14 | -7 | 5 | DDWLL |
| 10 |
|
Jalapa | 9 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 14 | -10 | 4 | LDLLL |
Primera Division Statistics
Top scorers 2026
| # | Player | Goals |
|---|
Top assists 2026
| # | Player | Assists |
|---|
Top key passes
Top tackles
Top yellow cards
Top red cards
Primera Division teams participation since 2016
History
| Team | Nb participations |
|---|---|
| Diriangén | 10 |
| Managua | 10 |
| Real Estelí | 10 |
| Walter Ferretti | 10 |
| Deportivo Ocotal | 8 |
| Juventus Managua | 8 |
| UNAN Managua | 8 |
| Jalapa | 8 |
| Real Madriz | 7 |
| Chinandega | 5 |
| H&H Export | 5 |
| Matagalpa | 4 |
| Rancho Santana | 2 |
| San Francisco | 1 |
| Nandasmo | 1 |
| Sébaco | 1 |
| Deportivo Las Sabanas | 1 |
| Deportivo Masaya | 1 |
| Junior Managua | 1 |
| Orgánica Masachapa | 1 |
| Rio Blanco | 1 |
Primera Division top scorer teams
Primera Division About
Primera Division is Nicaragua’s top-tier men’s professional football league, officially known as Liga Primera. It is the highest level of the Nicaraguan football pyramid and the country’s main domestic competition for determining national champions and developing clubs for regional CONCACAF football.
La identidad y el gobierno de la competición
The league is governed within Nicaragua by the Federación Nicaragüense de Fútbol (FENIFUT) and managed by the Liga Primera association. Its modern professional formation is dated to 1993, reflecting the long-term effort to establish a consistent, high-level environment for domestic clubs and players. The competition also provides an important platform for footballers who may contribute to the Nicaragua national team.
Liga Primera is played by men’s clubs and normally involves ten teams. Rather than operating as one uninterrupted championship lasting the entire football year, it uses a hybrid structure of two short tournaments: the Apertura, or Opening tournament, and the Clausura, or Closing tournament. Each tournament has its own championship race and knockout phase, while the combined results are used for the season’s relegation calculation.
How the league format works
During the regular phase, the participating clubs meet in a double round-robin schedule. Each team plays every other team at home and away, with three points awarded for a win, one for a draw and none for a defeat. This league table determines the leading positions, playoff access and the seeding advantages that can influence the knockout phase.
The strongest two regular-phase finishers receive direct places in the semifinals. Clubs finishing from third to sixth enter a single-match repechaje, or preliminary playoff, to decide the remaining semifinalists. The semifinals and final are played over two legs, giving each finalist or semifinalist a home match. The aggregate score across the two fixtures determines which team advances or wins the title. If the aggregate score is level after 180 minutes, the tie can proceed to extra time and, where necessary, a penalty shootout.
This structure combines the rewards of a league campaign with the high-stakes character of knockout football. A club must first build a strong regular-phase record, then handle the pressure of decisive matches against the leading teams. Finishing higher in the table is therefore valuable not only for qualification but also for the route and home-field advantages it may provide in the later stages.
Apertura, Clausura and the annual calendar
The Apertura usually occupies the second half of the calendar year, broadly from the middle of the year into December. The Clausura generally follows from January through May. This split aligns the domestic season with the wider Central American football calendar while allowing two separate opportunities to win a national championship.
The two tournaments are independent title competitions, but they are connected by the aggregate table. Points collected across the Apertura and Clausura determine which club finishes at the bottom of the overall standings and which teams remain in danger of relegation. This gives league matches significance beyond the immediate tournament standings: a club’s form over the full cycle can affect its top-flight status.
Promotion, relegation and eligibility
Liga Primera operates within a merit-based promotion and relegation system. The club with the lowest aggregate points total across the two tournaments is relegated to the Segunda División. The second-lowest side normally enters a playoff against a leading lower-division club, with top-flight survival decided over the relevant tie. Participation also depends on clubs meeting the professional and sporting requirements established under Nicaraguan football regulations.
Because the league represents the highest domestic level, access is more than a matter of sporting ambition. Clubs must sustain competitive results across two tournaments, manage the demands of a long programme and satisfy the standards required to remain in the professional structure.
National title and international pathway
Winning either tournament brings national prestige, while the overall competition determines which clubs emerge as Nicaragua’s leading representatives. Strong domestic performances can provide access to CONCACAF competitions, including the CONCACAF Central American Cup. Success at that level offers a route towards the CONCACAF Champions Cup, where Central American clubs meet leading sides from across North America, Central America and the Caribbean.
For that reason, Primera Division is both a domestic championship and Nicaragua’s principal gateway to the regional game. Its two-part calendar, aggregate relegation table and combination of round-robin and two-legged knockout football give the competition a distinctive identity: consistency is rewarded, but a club must also succeed in the decisive matches that crown each tournament’s champion.