Restructuring in the Costa Rican Football Federation
The Costa Rican Football Federation (FCRF) is in a comprehensive evaluation process after the failure to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. Although the departure of strategist Miguel Herrera was officially confirmed, the sports institution has revealed that the future of the sports director of the National Teams, Ignacio Hierro, is also under scrutiny. This situation reflects a deeper structural review that seeks to redefine the foundations of the Costa Rican football project.
During a crucial press conference, the president of the federation, Osael Maroto, explicitly acknowledged the failure of not achieving World Cup qualification. In his statements, he announced that Hierro’s continuity will be a central topic of discussion in the coming days, establishing a direct parallel with the process that led to Herrera’s departure: “Just as we reviewed it with the case of Miguel [Herrera] who – yesterday in the extraordinary session of the Executive Committee – led to the agreement of his departure.” This official statement underlines a methodological approach in the evaluation of all those responsible for the technical area.
Context and responsibilities of the sports director
Ignacio Hierro assumed the position of sports director in December 2024, marking the beginning of a new stage for Costa Rican federated football. It was precisely under his management and recommendation that Miguel ‘Piojo’ Herrera was presented as the ideal candidate to take the reins of the senior team, a proposal that materialized in January 2025. The Mexican coach coached a total of fifteen games with the national squad, but his career culminated with a critical draw against Honduras during the World Cup qualifiers.
Although the Costa Rica team did not depend exclusively on its own results in that final phase, a victory against the Honduran team would have kept alive its options to continue in the fight for a direct ticket to the World Cup. The tie not only cut short these aspirations, but also revealed structural deficiencies that transcended the purely tactical work of the coaching staff, placing the focus on global sports planning.
Comprehensive evaluation of responsibilities
The federation has specified that the responsibilities of the sports director go beyond the immediate result of the World Cup qualification. In response to questions about Hierro’s future, representatives of Fedefutbol clarified: “The position of the sports director is not only to qualify for the major World Cup. We cannot close the Federation only towards qualifying for a World Cup. He has other responsibilities that have been achieved as well, but without a doubt, that is the most important point of the position. It was not achieved, and that is why we are going to review next week.”
This institutional statement recognizes partial achievements in other areas of sports management, but simultaneously emphasizes that the primary objective—qualification for the top international tournament—was not achieved. The pending evaluation will consider both the positive aspects of Hierro’s management and the failure in the fundamental strategic objective, establishing a complex balance that will determine its continuity.
Meanwhile, the federation has formally ratified the departure of Miguel Herrera and his entire coaching staff, thus closing a specific chapter within this restructuring process. As President Maroto expressed it: “What was done was to ratify the departure of Herrera and his coaching staff. That was basically what we talked about.” The decision on Hierro represents the next phase in this institutional readjustment, the outcome of which will be known in the coming days and will mark the course of Costa Rican soccer in the post-qualifying cycle.
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