The regime of Ortega and Murillo takes control of the Nicaraguan national football teams

The state organ Juventud Presidente, under the command of the presidential couple, took over the organizational and communications control of Nicaragua's national soccer teams. /(Illustrative Image Infobae)The regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo took control five months ago of the organization, communications, and national soccer teams of Nicaragua through Juventud Presidente, an official propaganda organ. The intervention reached the men's and women's teams of all categories after the call-up of the men's national team during the United 2026 qualifiers, according to three sources with knowledge of the matter consulted by Divergentes. The October 1 match against Costa Rica was the first organized by personnel linked to Juventud Presidente, under rules of "strict order" and secrecy, according to a former official of the Nicaraguan Football Federation. During that match, Daniel Edmundo and Maurice Ortega Murillo, sons of the governing couple, attended with their families under a police deployment of at least 20 people, both civilians and uniformed officers. Until then, the Nicaraguan Football Federation (Fenifut) had administered the activities of the national teams. The new structure transferred a large part of its functions to Juventud Presidente, known as JP, while federation officials retained public representation at press conferences. "It was an order that came from above. The goal is to have control of everything and centralize it under their political line," said a source linked to the Nicaraguan Institute of Sports, who asked to remain anonymous and whose statement was collected by Divergentes. The same person noted that JP applies a similar dynamic in other state institutions and that the national team was the sports arena that had not yet followed that directive. The decision came after Nicaragua's run in the United 2026 qualifiers, when the team reached the final stage before being eliminated. In that process, the national team defeated Honduras and drew with Costa Rica in Managua. The Nicaraguan Football Federation retained public representation after ceding its operational functions to the government structure. /(Illustrative Image Infobae)The official interest in soccer is explained, according to the sources consulted, by its ability to draw crowds. The regime had already backed boxing figures like Román González, strengthened the Pomares baseball championship, and invested resources in that sport, but the media impact of those sports fell after the 2018 political crisis. "Soccer and what the national team generated remained at high levels organically," said the source related to the Nicaraguan Institute of Sports. In their view, the main barrier to direct intervention was FIFA's prohibition on government interference in national federations. Articles 14 and 15 of FIFA's statutes establish that member federations must manage their affairs independently and avoid interference from third parties. Article 19 prohibits political interference and provides for sanctions that can reach the suspension or expulsion of a federation. The source recalled that the first sign of political intervention was the presence of a red-and-black flag during the flag ceremony of a women's under-20 national team. "A warning from FIFA was expected, but in the end nothing happened," they said. Control of national soccer already had precedents within the sports structures. A former executive of a First Division club maintained that Fidel Moreno controls Liga Primera and maintains influence in Fenifut, including the appointment or removal of coaches through advisories. The regime focused its attention on soccer due to its drawing power in the face of the media decline of baseball and boxing. /(Illustrative Image Infobae)"Those at Fenifut are Sandinista pieces that answer to the party, but from above they decided to move toward near-total control," declared the former executive, also anonymously to Divergentes. According to his account, Moreno did not seek to be in the spotlight or participate directly in the communications and organization areas now managed by JP. The transition began when Fenifut officials and the people in charge of Liga Primera's social media received the instruction to hand over those tasks. "Little by little they abandoned their usual communication and dissemination functions, and five months later the control was almost completely consolidated," explained the former federation official. "They didn't do it before, but since the control is almost total, there is now 'more confidence' to allow themselves to participate in this type of activity," said that person. The presence of the governing couple's sons was verified through videos and photographs sent to Divergentes by attendees at the match. Federation officials still appear before the press, but JP defines the day-to-day functioning of the national team's activities. A source related to Fenifut stated that the release of any information must pass through several filters and receive the approval of up to five people. "Those in charge know nothing about soccer and its organization. They are secretive with information and have created an atmosphere of fear even among journalists themselves," they maintained. Sports journalists contacted to learn their position on that climate did not respond. The source from the Nicaraguan Institute of Sports considered that the regime will hardly formalize its control of the national team through its propaganda channels due to the risk of sanctions in the face of a possible FIFA investigation. According to that version, the intervention in Fenifut seeks to take advantage of the national team's mass appeal without openly exposing the political interference.