The former Second Division of the professional football system in Costa Rica is now known as the “Liga de Ascenso,” a league that loosely serves two purposes: It is a minor, developmental league for “farm teams” such as the powerhouse Liga Deportiva Alajuelense (LDA) and Deportivo Saprissa; moreover, this league is also a platform for hopeful football clubs to advance to the potentially lucrative First Division.

The Jaco Rays Football Club is based in Jaco Beach, province of Puntarenas. In 2010, a former club based in the city of Naranjo, province of Alajuela, was purchased by a businessman based in Jaco Beach. Patrick Vincent Hundley, an expat from the United States, perhaps wanted to emulate the success of David Patey, another U.S. expat who became a majority shareholder of Club Sport Herediano (CSH), a football club that recently won the First Division championship and is now a strong contender in the CONCACAF Champions League.

In July of 2013, The Costa Rica Star reported on the friendly match between CSH and Jaco Rays at the Garabito Stadium in Jaco Beach. Even with stars such as Mambo Nuñez and Olman Vargas, the Jaco Rays won the match against the reigning champion CSH. It was a battle royale between U.S. expat owners of professional football clubs in Costa Rica, and the underdog Jaco Rays prevailed. Alas, Mr. Hundley would be arrested months later for his alleged role in a real estate development scheme estimated at more than $7 million.

Despite this legal setback the Jaco Rays FC continued to battle in the Liga de Ascenso, an extremely competitive league. During the league’s action in November, however, the Jaco Rays were eliminated in a knock-off round to reach the semifinals and a chance to advance to the First Division to take the place of an unceremonious club that must descend in order to appease the football gods.

It has been an unfortunate turn of events for the Jaco Rays, a club that could actually handle advancement to the First Division. For the most part, football clubs in Costa Rica that are not the Big 4 (CSH, LDA, Saprissa, and Cartaginés) are destined to languish in the lesser league, and not because of lack of team skills or coaching; the problem is funding and organization. From a financial and administrative point of view, the Jaco Rays are ready to play in the First Division, and they are one of the few clubs that can make such a claim.

Regrettably, the beloved team from Jaco Beach will not advance this time around, and the other teams that look like they may take the tournament and advance do not look too good from an organizational point of view. As it has happened before in the history of First Division football in Costa Rica, advancing clubs that are not ready for the First Division tend to go broke in the middle of the tournament. Hopefully, this will not be the case this time around, but let’s also hope that the Jaco Rays Football Club will have a better season next year.