The 21^st century has proven difficult for professional football development in Guanacaste, but things seem to be improving for the northern province. Two local teams from the province are among the best performers in the development football league of Costa Rica, previously known as the Second Division. Should the Guanacaste Sporting Association or the Liberia Municipal Team continue playing as they have this season, they may join the ranks of teams such as Deportivo Saprissa and the current champion Liga Deportiva Alajuelense (LDA).

After four matches played in the current tournament season, Guanacaste is undefeated and has come away victorious in every game. The most recent game played by Guanacaste took place at the Chorotega Stadium in Nicoya. Their opponent at that time was also their local rival, Liberia. These two teams from the same province are in Group 1 of the Second Division, which means that only one of them can play the final game of the season for the opportunity to join the lucrative First Division of Costa Rica.

The Guanacaste – Liberia match saw goals by Alexander Martinez and Michael Duran, who gave their team the victory against just one goal by Steven Miranda of Liberia. Guanacaste is leading the group, followed by Liberia in second place. The rest of the teams in the group are performing at a very distant level, although Alajuela Junior (a “farm” or development team for LDA) shows some promise. Like LDA, Saprissa also has a development team in the Second Division; however, these two teams are barred from moving on to First Division should they win the tournament. Since these teams are owned by perennial First Division contenders, they are able to transfer players back and forth and even negotiate with the second place team when it comes time to join the First Division.

Although Second Division football is very competitive in Costa Rica, it is often a money-losing financial endeavor. With the exception of the Alajuela and Saprissa junior teams, the financial support of Second Division teams is often insufficient. One Second Division team, San Ramon, has not played a single match this season because they owe La Caja more than $200,000. The leading teams from Guanacaste do not have such grave financial or management problems, which also makes them ideal candidates to join the First Division.