Matagalpa

Óscar López had already worn Nicaragua's colours more than fifteen times when he joined Matagalpa for the 2022/23 season, the club's first in the top flight. The team had earned that debut by finishing runner-up in the Segunda División in 2021/22, and it wasted no time making itself known: in the Clausura playoffs that same first season, Matagalpa beat CD Walter Ferretti on penalties to reach the semi-final.

The club plays at Estadio Carlos Fonseca Amador, a ground that holds 1,800 people, in a city that gave it more than a home pitch. Matagalpa FC wears green, white, yellow and blue, colours drawn from the departmental flag rather than any borrowed tradition. The team was founded in 2011 and carried the department's name through the divisions before it reached the top.

Consistency followed the early cup run. Matagalpa placed seventh and eighth in the two 2023/24 tournaments, then improved to third in the Apertura of 2024/25, its best league finish yet. The clearest measure of how far the club has come sits in the 2024 Copa Primera, where Matagalpa reached the final and led Diriangén before losing 3-2 in extra time.

Deportivo Ocotal remains the fixture that matters most locally. Both clubs represent Nicaragua's northern departments. For now, Matagalpa's task is the same one it set for itself the year it reached the Clausura semi-final.