# 2015–16 Primera División de Nicaragua

The 2015–16 season in Primera División de Nicaragua was divided into two tournaments (Apertura and Clausura) and determined the 67th and 68th champions in the history of the league. It also provided the sole berth for the 2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League. The Apertura tournament was played in the second half of 2015, while the Clausura was played in the first half of 2016.

## Teams

A total of 10 teams will contest the league, including 8 sides from the 2015–16 season and one sids directly promoted from the 2014–145Segunda division. The final participant will be determined in a two-legged play-off, in which the 9th placed Primera division side UNAN Managua will play the team who finished second in Segunda division which was FC San Marcos. UNAN Managua won 6-0 on aggregate over FC San Marcos which meant they stayed in the Primera Division.
* ART Jalapa
* Diriangén FC
* UCEM Juventus FC
* Managua F.C.
* Deportivo Ocotal
* Real Madriz
* Real Esteli F.C.
* UNAN Managua
* Chinandega FC (Winner of the Segunda Division)
* Walter Ferretti

### Promotion and relegation

* At the end of the 2014–15, Chinandega FC was promoted to Primera Division
* At the end of the 2014–15, Fox Villa was relegated to Segunda Division.

## Apertura
### Team information

Last updated: 2015

### Personnel and sponsoring (2015 Apertura)

| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| ART Jalapa | Tyson Acevedo | | TBD | Claro, Argoris |
| Diriangén FC | Andrés Novara | David Solorzano | Joma | Claro, Totto |
| Chinandega FC | Reina Espinoza | | TBD | TBD |
| Juventus F.C. | Oscar Blanco | | TBD | TBD |
| Managua F.C. | Carlos Zambrana | Silvio Aviles | TBD | Uno Lubricantes |
| Deportivo Ocotal | Roberto Chanampe | | TBD | TBD |
| Real Madriz | Leónidas Rodríguez | | TBD | TBD |
| Real Esteli F.C. | Ramón Otoniel Olivas | Elmer Mejia | Galaxia | TBD |
| UNAN Managua | Edward Urroz | Roberto Carlos Vanegas | Joma | UNAN Managua |
| Walter Ferretti | Flavio Da Silva | Denis Espinoza | TBD | TBD |

## Managerial changes
### Before the season

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Replaced by | Date of appointment |
| Deportivo Ocotal | Juan Ramon Trejo | Contract Finished | 2015 | Roberto Chanampe | 2015 |
| Diriangén FC | Roberto Chanampe | Contract finished | 2015 | Andrés Novara | 2015 |

### During the season

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Replaced by | Date of appointment |
| Deportivo Walter Ferretti | Flavio Da Silva | Resigned | September 2015 | Marvin Solano | September 2015 |
| Deportivo Ocotal | Roberto Chanampe | Resigned | September 2015 | Airon Reyes García | September 2015 |
| Diriangén FC | Andrés Novara | Sacked | October 2015 | Javier Londono | October 2015 |
| Deportivo Ocotal | Airon Reyes García | Sacked | October 2015 | Flavio Vanegas | October 2015 |

### Regular season

The regular season began on 2015. The top four finishers will move on to the next stage of the competition.

### Scoring

* First goal of the season: Rodrigo Hernandez own goal for Managua F.C. against UNAN Managua, 10 minutes (15 August 2015)
* First goal by a foreign player: Jonathan Donado for UNAN Managua against Managua F.C., 20 minutes (15 August 2015)
* Fastest goal in a match: 10 minute - TBD for TBD against TBD (TBD TBD 2015)
* Goal scored at the latest point in a match: 94 minutes - Christian Cisneros for Metapan against C.D. Chalatenango (1 August 2015)
* First penalty Kick of the season: Marlon Lopez for Managua F.C. against UNAN Managua, 75 minutes (15 August 2015)
* Widest winning margin: 8 goals
** UNAN Managua 9–1 ART Municipal Jalapa (18 November 2015)
* First hat-trick of the season: Darwin Ramirez for Juventus Managua against Real Madriz (August 24, 2015)
* First own goal of the season: Rodriguez Hernandez (UNAN Managua) for Managua F.C. (August 152015)
* Most goals in a match: 10 Goals UNAN Managua 9–1 ART Municipal Jalapa (18 November 2015) Juventus Managua 5–5 Managua F.C. (15 August 2015)
* Most goals by one team in a match: 9 Goals
** UNAN Managua 9–1 ART Municipal Jalapa (18 November 2015)
* Most goals in one half by one team: 5 Goals UNAN Managua 9–1 ART Municipal Jalapa (18 November 2015)
* Most goals scored by losing team: 2 Goals
** ART Jalapa 2–5 Real Madriz (September, 2015)
* Most goals by one player in a single match: 5 Goals
** Daniel Reyes for UNAN Managua against ART Municipal Jalapa (18 November 2015)

#### Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Real Esteli | 18 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 46 | 9 | +37 | 44 | Semi-finals Group |
| 2 | Walter Ferretti | 18 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 37 | 19 | +18 | 38 | Semi-finals Group |
| 3 | UNAN Managua | 18 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 40 | 20 | +20 | 37 | Semi-finals Group |
| 4 | Diriangén | 18 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 28 | 21 | +7 | 29 | Semi-finals Group |
| 5 | Juventus Managua | 18 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 32 | 27 | +5 | 25 | |
| 6 | Chinandega | 18 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 18 | 25 | −7 | 21 | |
| 7 | Managua | 18 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 32 | 38 | −6 | 18 | |
| 8 | Jalapa | 18 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 40 | −25 | 14 | |
| 9 | Ocotal | 18 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 23 | 39 | −16 | 13 | |
| 10 | Real Madriz | 18 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 23 | 56 | −33 | 12 | |

#### Results

| Home \ Away | JAL | CHI | DIR | JUV | MAN | OCO | RES | RMD | UNA | WFE |
| Jalapa | | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–3 |
| Chinandega | 3–0 | | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 |
| Diriangén | 2–1 | 2–0 | | 4–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 0–1 |
| Juventus Managua | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 7–0 | 1–2 | 2–4 |
| Managua | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 5–5 | | 6–2 | 0–5 | 5–0 | 3–3 | 2–5 |
| Ocotal | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | | 0–3 | 4–1 | 1–3 | 4–0 |
| Real Esteli | 4–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 2–0 | | 6–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 |
| Real Madriz | 5–2 | 2–3 | 0–4 | 1–4 | 1–0 | 3–3 | 2–5 | | 2–2 | 0–2 |
| UNAN Managua | 9–1 | 6–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 3–1 | | 3–2 |
| Walter Ferretti | 2–0 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 6–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | |

#### Positions by round

| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| Real Esteli | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Managua | 5 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 |
| Walter Ferretti | 4 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| UNAN Managua | 6 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Diriangén | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Juventus Managua | 8 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Chinandega | 7 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Ocotal | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Real Madriz | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Jalapa | 3 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 |

### Playoffs
#### Semi-finals
##### Second leg

Diriangen won 1-0 on aggregate.
UNAN Managua won 4-3 on aggregate.

#### Finals
##### Second leg

* UNAN Managua won 3-1 on aggregate score.

## List of foreign players in the league

This is a list of foreign players in Apertura 2015. The following players:
* have played at least one apertura game for the respective club.
* have not been capped for the Nicaragua national football team on any level, independently from the birthplace
A new rule was introduced this year, that clubs can only have five foreign players in a squad.

## Clausura
### Team information

Last updated: 2015

### Personnel and sponsoring (2016 Clausura)

| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| ART Municipal Jalapa | Ángel Orellana | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Diriangén FC | Mario Reig | David Solorzano | TBD | TBD |
| Chinandega FC | Reina Espinoza | | TBD | |
| Juventus Managua | Douglas Urbina | José Alfredo Ramírez | TBD | TBD |
| Managua F.C. | Flavio Da Silva | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Deportivo Ocotal | Javier Reales | | TBD | TBD |
| Real Madriz | Elvin Roberto Cerna | Enoc Salgado | TBD | TBD |
| Real Esteli F.C. | Ramón Otoniel Olivas | Elmer Mejia | TBD | TBD |
| UNAN Managua | Edward Urroz | Henry Garcia | TBD | UNAN Managua |
| Walter Ferretti | José Valladares | Denis Espinoza | TBD | TBD |

## Managerial changes
### Before the season

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Replaced by | Date of appointment |
| Deportivo Walter Ferretti | Marvin Solano | Contract Finished | December 2015 | José Valladares | December 2015 |
| Managua F.C. | Carlos Zambrana | Sacked | December 2015 | Flavio Da Silva | December 2015 |
| Deportivo Ocotal | Flavio Vanegas | interim finished | December 2015 | Javier Reales | December 2015 |
| Real Madriz | Leonidas Rodriguez | interim finished | January 2016 | Elvin Roberto Cerna | January 2016 |
| ART Municipal Jalapa | Tyson Acevedo | Resigned | January 2016 | Ángel Orellana | January 2016 |
| Diriangén FC | Javier Londono | Resigned | January 2016 | Mario Reig | January 2016 |

### During the season

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Replaced by | Date of appointment |
| Deportivo Ocotal | Javier Reales | Sacked | February 2016 | Juan Ramon Trejo | February 2016 |
| Diriangén FC | Mario Reig | Resigned | February 2016 | Jose Luis Rugamas | February 2016 |
| Real Madriz | Elvin Roberto Cerna | Resigned | April 2016 | Sindulio Castellanos | April 2016 |

### Regular season

The regular season began on 2015. The top four finishers will move on to the next stage of the competition.

### Scoring

* First goal of the season: Daniel Reyes for UNAN Managua against Managua F.C., 17 minutes (16 January 2016)
* First goal by a foreign player: Leandro Cruz de Oliveira for Real Esteli against Deportivo Ocotal, 69 minutes (17 January 2016)
* Fastest goal in a match: 3 minute - Baez for Real Madriz against Diriangen FC (January 16, 2016)
* Goal scored at the latest point in a match: 87 minutes - Daniel Reyes for UNAN Managua against Managua F.C. (16 January 2016)
* First penalty Kick of the season: Marlon Lopez for Managua F.C. against UNAN Managua, 75 minutes (15 August 2015)
* Widest winning margin: 5 goals
** Real Esteli 5–0 Deportivo Ocotal (17 November 2016)
* First hat-trick of the season: TBD for TBD against TBD (2016)
* First own goal of the season: Rodriguez Hernandez (UNAN Managua) for Managua F.C. (2016)
* Most goals in a match: 5 Goals Real Esteli 5–0 Deportivo Ocotal (17 November 2016)
* Most goals by one team in a match: 5 Goals
** Real Esteli 5–0 Deportivo Ocotal (17 November 2016)
* Most goals in one half by one team: 3 Goals Real Esteli 5–0 Deportivo Ocotal (17 November 2016) and ART Municipal Jalapa against Chinandega FC (18 November 2015)
* Most goals scored by losing team: 2 Goals
** Real Madriz 2–5 Real Esteli (28 February 2016)
* Most goals by one player in a single match: 3 Goals
** Carlos Chavarria for Real Esteli against Real Madriz (28 February 2016)

#### Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Real Esteli | 18 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 43 | 9 | +34 | 43 | Semi-finals Group |
| 2 | Walter Ferretti | 18 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 27 | 16 | +11 | 29 | Semi-finals Group |
| 3 | UNAN Managua | 18 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 24 | 21 | +3 | 27 | Semi-finals Group |
| 4 | Diriangén | 18 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 20 | 19 | +1 | 25 | Semi-finals Group |
| 5 | Real Madriz | 18 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 25 | 27 | −2 | 24 | |
| 6 | Managua | 18 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 21 | 23 | −2 | 23 | |
| 7 | Jalapa | 18 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 20 | 27 | −7 | 21 | |
| 8 | Ocotal | 18 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 21 | 32 | −11 | 20 | |
| 9 | Chinandega | 18 | 3 | 10 | 5 | 19 | 22 | −3 | 19 | |
| 10 | Juventus Managua | 18 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 40 | −24 | 12 | |

#### Results

| Home \ Away | JAL | CHI | DIR | JUV | MAN | OCO | RES | RMD | UNA | WFE |
| Jalapa | | 3–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–5 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 3–2 |
| Chinandega | 0–0 | | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| Diriangén | 2–1 | 1–0 | | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 |
| Juventus Managua | 3–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | | 2–2 | 2–0 | 0–5 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–3 |
| Managua | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 4–1 | | 2–2 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 |
| Ocotal | 2–1 | 4–2 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 0–1 | | 0–5 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 1–0 |
| Real Esteli | 3–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 4–0 | | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 |
| Real Madriz | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 2–5 | | 2–1 | 1–1 |
| UNAN Managua | 1–2 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 5–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | | 0–0 |
| Walter Ferretti | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 3–0 | |

#### Positions by round

| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| Real Estelí | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Managua | 4 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 6 |
| Walter Ferretti | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| UNAN Managua | 5 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Diriangén | 8 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 |
| Juventus Managua | 6 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Chinandega | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Ocotal | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 |
| Real Madriz | 3 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 |
| Jalapa | 2 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 7 |

### Playoffs
#### Semi-finals
##### Second leg

Real Estelí won 8-2 on aggregate.
Walter Ferretti won 2-1 on aggregate.

#### Finals
##### Second leg

Real Estelí won 1-0 on aggregate.

## List of foreign players in the league

This is a list of foreign players in Clausura 2016. The following players:
* have played at least one apertura game for the respective club.
* have not been capped for the Nicaragua national football team on any level, independently from the birthplace
A new rule was introduced this year, that clubs can only have five foreign players in a squad.

## Championship playoff
### Second leg

* Real Estelí won 3–1 on aggregate score.
* Primera Division 2016 Champion
* Real Estelí 13th title

## Aggregate table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Real Esteli (C) | 36 | 27 | 6 | 3 | 89 | 18 | +71 | 87 | Qualification for 2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League |
| 2 | Walter Ferretti | 36 | 19 | 10 | 7 | 64 | 35 | +29 | 67 | |
| 3 | UNAN Managua | 36 | 18 | 10 | 8 | 64 | 41 | +23 | 64 | |
| 4 | Diriangén | 36 | 16 | 6 | 14 | 48 | 42 | +6 | 54 | |
| 5 | Managua | 36 | 10 | 11 | 15 | 51 | 59 | −8 | 41 | |
| 6 | Chinandega | 36 | 8 | 16 | 12 | 37 | 47 | −10 | 40 | |
| 7 | Juventus Managua | 36 | 9 | 10 | 17 | 48 | 67 | −19 | 37 | |
| 8 | Real Madriz | 36 | 10 | 6 | 20 | 48 | 83 | −35 | 36 | |
| 9 | Jalapa (R) | 36 | 9 | 8 | 19 | 34 | 67 | −33 | 35 | Relegation play-off |
| 10 | Ocotal (R) | 36 | 8 | 9 | 19 | 44 | 71 | −27 | 33 | Relegation to 2016-2017 Segunda División de Fútbol de Nicaragua |