Despite having no famous players, no high-profile league and inadequate stadiums, football in Nicaragua is starting to awaken, grabbing more and more attention in a nation traditionally crazy about baseball.
Analysts say the growth is spurred by several factors, chiefly TV, which is more frequently showing games from the Spanish league and big events like the World Cup.
There is also the improvement of the national squad, which last year surged 56 notches to 96th spot in the latest FIFA rankings.
Certainly there is passion and interest building among younger sections of the public in the Central American country. “It’s like someone has football in the blood,” said Michael Pena, a 20-year-old playing for a local side in the San Jose Oriental district of the capital Managua. “Though work doesn’t let me do it more often, every time I get a chance I play.”
But, thus far, attention goes more towards foreign clubs than domestic ones. Nicaraguan fans follow more closely Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona and Real Madrid than they do local teams. “I like football but only when the national team is playing other countries,” said Bosco Garcia, a high-school student who is a Barcelona fan.
Former professional footballer Jose Maria Bermudez, who played for Nicaragua and used to be a member of the country’s FENIFUT football federation, said more could be done to get the public behind domestic teams. “They should organise supporters so there is better identification with the people,” he said.
Nicaragua adopted baseball in the early 20th century with US military intervention and occupation. American Marines built baseball fields and taught locals how to play, starting what went on to become a national sport.
Now, around a century later, “I think there is a big shift of fans from baseball to football,” despite the former being more heavily promoted, said Bermudez.
“Stadiums were filled for the national team’s games in the last international meets — up to 18,000 people. No other sport has managed that,” said the former player.
