| Competition: | Primera División |
| Season: | 2012–13 |
| Winners: | Apertura: Real Estelí Clausura: Real Estelí |
| Relegated: | Xilotepelt |
| Continentalcup1: | Champions League |
| Continentalcup1 Qualifiers: | Real Estelí |
| League Topscorer: | Apertura: Andres Giraldo - 11 goals Clausura: TBD - goals |
| Biggest Home Win: | Apertura: Diriangén 5 - 1 Chinandega FC Xilotepelt 5-1 Ocotal Clausura: Real Estelí 12 - 0 Xilotepelt |
| Biggest Away Win: | Clausura: Juventus Managua 0-4 Deportivo Walter Ferretti |
| Highest Scoring: | Clausura: Real Estelí 12 - 0 Xilotepelt |
| Prevseason: | 2011–12 |
| Nextseason: | 2013–14 |
The 2012–13 season in Primera División de Nicaragua was divided into two tournaments (Apertura and Clausura) and determined the 61st and 62nd champions in the history of the league. It also provided the country's sole berth for the 2013–14 CONCACAF Champions League. The Apertura tournament was played in the second half of 2012, while the Clausura was played in the first half of 2013.
Promoted from Segunda División de Fútbol Nicaragua.
Relegated to Segunda División de Fútbol Nicaragua.
Last updated: July 7, 2011
| Team | Home city | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chinandega FC | Chinandega | Estadio Efrain Tijerino | 8,000 |
| Diriangén | Diriamba | Estadio Cacique Diriangén | 7,500 |
| Juventus | Managua | Estadio Olímpico del IND Managua | 9,000 |
| Managua F.C. | Managua | Estadio Olímpico del IND Managua | 9,000 |
| Ocotal | Ocotal | Estadio Roy Fernandez | 3,000 |
| Real Estelí | Estelí | Estadio Independencia | 4,800 |
| Walter Ferretti | Managua | Estadio Olímpico del IND Managua | 9,000 |
| Xilotepelt | Jinotepe | Estadio Pedro Selva | 12,000 |
| Team | Chairman | Head Coach | Kitmaker | Shirt sponsor | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinandega FC | TBA | Alex Cajina | Adidas | None | |
| Diriangén | Tulio López |  Francisco Nunez | Joma | Movistar | |
| Juventus | Edward Urroz | None | Intracarga, Grao | ||
| Managua F.C. | Napoleón Zeledón | Emilio Aburto | Managua F.C. | ||
| Ocotal | Oscar Mendoza | Florentino Colindres | Marlon Anthony | ||
| Real Estelí | Fidel Moreno | Ramón Otoniel Olivas | Galaxia | Movistar, Grupo Bimbo, Yahoo, La Curaçao | |
| Walter Ferretti | Emilio Rodriguez | Henry 'Huesito' Urbina | Policia, Cierro, Banco | ||
| Xilotepelt | TBD | Martin Mena | Gerithen | U de M |
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Replaced by | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diriangén |  Angel Orellana | resigned (due to problems with team economics) | June 8, 2012 | Francisco Núñez | June 14, 2012 |
| Deportivo Ocotal |  Carlos Walcott | resigned (personal issues) | 9 July 2012 | Florentino Colindres | 13 July 2012 |
| Xilotepelt | Luis "guicho" Díaz | sacked | 3 July 2012 |  Martin Mena | 4 July 2012 |
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Replaced by | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deportivo Ocotal | Florentino Colindres | resigned (poor performance) | 30 July 2012 | Sindulios Castellano | 1 August 2012 |
| Diriangén | Francisco Núñez | resigned (poor performance) | 23 September 2012 | Luis Vega | 24 September 2012 |
The 2012 Apertura was the first tournament of the season. It began in August 2012.
The regular season began in August 2012. The top four finishers will move on to the next stage of the competition.
The top two finishers in the Semi-finals Group will move on to the final.
| Rank | Scorer | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andres Giraldo | Chinandega FC | 11 |
| 2 | Rudel Calero | Real Esteli F.C. | 9 |
| 3 | Herberth Cabrera | Managua F.C. | 7 |
| 4 | Samuel Wilson | Real Esteli F.C. | 7 |
| 5 | Eulises Pavon | Diriangén FC | 6 |
| 6 | Elmer Mejia | Real Esteli F.C. | 6 |
| 7 | Ricardo Vega | Deportivo Walter Ferretti | 5 |
| 8 | Ronny Colon | Juventus Managua | 5 |
This is a list of foreign players in Apertura 2012. The following players:
A new rule was introduced this year, that clubs can have upwards of five foreign players in a squad, However some conditions include: The player has to be younger than 30 years old, spent year abroad away from Nicaragua, and clubs can only have four foreign players on the field at one time http://www.elnuevodiario.com.ni/deportes/257591-cinco-extranjeros.
Chinandega
Andres Giraldo Gustavo Reyes Juan Davis Restrepo Víctor Norales Cristian RodríguezDiriangén FC
Johnni Saavedra Christian Mena Wilson Flores Gerson MartínezJuventus Managua
Victor Carrasco Jorge Hernandez Daniel Henao Ronny ColonManagua
Jose Flores Christian Batiz Luis Fernando González Fernando Copete Herberth Cabrera(player released mid season)
Ocotal
Luis Maradiaga Marcos Rivera Byron Maradiaga Cesar SalandiaReal Esteli
Elmer Mejia Manuel Rosas
Fernando Alvez Ronald Quintero Gabriel Mirazo VillarXilotepelt
Oscar Castillo Mandell Scott George Tinglin Álvaro SalazarWalter Ferretti
Mario Gracia
David da Silva Darwig Ramirez Darwin Guity Víctor LozanoThe 2013 Clausura was the second tournament of the season.
| Team | Chairman | Head Coach | Kitmaker | Shirt sponsor | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinandega FC | TBA | Alex Cajina | Adidas | ||
| Diriangén | Tulio López |  Carlos Alberto de Toro | Joma | Movistar | |
| Juventus | Edward Urroz | Douglas Urbina | None | UNEM | |
| Managua F.C. | Napoleón Zeledón | Emilio Aburto | Managua F.C. | ||
| Ocotal | Oscar Mendoza | Sindulio Castellano | Tecnitasa | Alcadia de Ocotal | |
| Real Estelí | Fidel Moreno | Ramón Otoniel Olivas | Galaxia | Movistar, Grupo Bimbo, Yahoo, La Curaçao | |
| Walter Ferretti | Emilio Rodriguez | Henry 'Huesito' Urbina | Dejudo | Claro, Albanisa, Flor de Cana,Ramos, Mediotipca | |
| Xilotepelt | TBD | Angel Orellana | TBD | TBD |
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Replaced by | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diriangén | Luis Vega | Sacked | October 2012 | Carlos Alberto de Toro | November 2012 |
| Xilotepelt | Martin Mena | Sacked | December 2012 | Angel Orellana | January 2013 |
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Replaced by | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deportivo Ocotal | Sindulios Castellano | resigned (poor performance) | Feb 2013 | Mario Alfaro | March 2013 |
| Xilotepelt | Angel Orellana | resigned (Personal Reasons) | Feb 2013 | TBD | March 2013 |
| Deportivo Walter Ferretti | Henry 'Huesito' Urbina | resigned (Personal Reasons) | March 2013 | Luis 'Gaucho' Diaz | March 2013 |
The 2013 Clausura was the first tournament of the season. It began in August 2012.
The regular season began on 2013. The top four finishers will move on to the next stage of the competition.
The top two finishers in the Semi-finals Group will move on to the final.
This is a list of foreign players in Apertura 2012. The following players:
A new rule was introduced this year, that clubs can have upwards of five foreign players in a squad, However some conditions include: The player has to be younger than 30 years old, spent year abroad away from Nicaragua, and clubs can only have four foreign players on the field at one time http://www.elnuevodiario.com.ni/deportes/257591-cinco-extranjeros.
Chinandega
Andres Giraldo Gustavo Reyes Juan Davis Restrepo Víctor Norales Cristian RodríguezDiriangén FC
Johnni Saavedra Christian Mena Wilson Flores Gerson Martínez Lucas Martella
Luis RodriguezJuventus Managua
Victor Carrasco Jorge Hernandez Daniel Henao Ronny ColonManagua
Jose Flores Christian Batiz Luis Fernando González Fernando Copete Herberth Cabrera(player released mid season)
Ocotal
Juan José Tablada Marcos Rivera José Javier Mejía Cesar Salandia Jonathan JuárezReal Esteli
Elmer Mejia Assad Esteves Paulo Ortiz Ronald Quintero Gabriel Mirazo VillarXilotepelt
Oscar Palomino Castillo Jaime Romo George Tinglin Gilberth SequeiraWalter Ferretti
Pedro Augusto Pedrinho Mayco Santana Darwig Ramirez Mitchel Williams Víctor Lozano