The Torneo Descentralizado is the national Peruvian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Peruvian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. The responsibility for its organization lies within the Asociación Deportiva de Fútbol Profesional. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Segunda División and the Copa Peru. Seasons run from February to December but the competition format varies from season to season. Most games are played on Saturdays and Sundays, with a few games played during weekday evenings. It is currently sponsored by Movistar TV and therefore commercially known as the Torneo Descentralizado Copa Movistar.
The tournament was established in 1966 following the decision of the Peruvian Football Federation to create a national football championship which had not existed since Peruvian football competitions for clubs were first organized in the early twentieth century. Since 1966, a total of 10 clubs have been crowned national champions. Sporting Cristal is the most successful club, winning seventeen national titles. Only three clubs outside the Lima Province have won a national championship, the first being Unión Huaral (2 titles), the second being Melgar (2 titles), and the third being Juan Aurich (1).
History + Descentralizado champions Season Champions 1966 Universitario 1967 Universitario 1968 Sporting Cristal 1969 Universitario 1970 Sporting Cristal 1971 Universitario 1972 Sporting Cristal 1973 Defensor Lima 1974 Universitario 1975 Alianza Lima 1976 Unión Huaral 1977 Alianza Lima 1978 Alianza Lima 1979 Sporting Cristal 1980 Sporting Cristal 1981 Melgar 1982 Universitario 1983 Sporting Cristal 1984 Sport Boys 1985 Universitario 1986 San Agustín 1987 Universitario 1988 Sporting Cristal 1989 Unión Huaral 1990 Universitario 1991 Sporting Cristal 1992 Universitario 1993 Universitario 1994 Sporting Cristal 1995 Sporting Cristal 1996 Sporting Cristal 1997 Alianza Lima 1998 Universitario 1999 Universitario 2000 Universitario 2001 Alianza Lima 2002 Sporting Cristal 2003 Alianza Lima 2004 Alianza Lima 2005 Sporting Cristal 2006 Alianza Lima 2007 Universidad San Martín 2008 Universidad San Martín 2009 Universitario 2010 Universidad San Martín 2011 Juan Aurich 2012 Sporting Cristal 2013 Universitario 2014 Sporting Cristal 2015 Melgar 2016 Sporting Cristal 2017 Alianza Lima 2018 Sporting Cristal Peruvian football was not played at a national level since the first football leagues were formed in the early twentieth century. Football was played regionally, with Lima's first division being the most important championship, turning professional in 1951, and having its champion qualify to the Copa Libertadores starting in 1960. In 1966, the first national championship was contested featuring the 10 professional Lima-based teams that would have played in the Liga Provincial de Fútbol de Lima and four teams from different parts of the country including Grau of Piura, Melgar of Arequipa, Alfonso Ugarte (Ch) of Trujillo, and Octavio Espinoza of Ica.
The first Torneo Descentralizado made its debut on 13 August 1966 in the Estadio Nacional featuring two games. The first game was played between Universitario and promoted Mariscal Sucre, which ended in a 1–1 draw. The second match in the Estadio Nacional was a 0–0 draw between Sporting Cristal and Alfonso Ugarte (Ch) played immediately after the first match. Universitario would go on to become the first national champion and qualifying to the 1967 Copa Libertadores. In addition, the runner-up Sport Boys also qualified to the Copa Libertadores after CONMEBOL expanded the number of berths for each member association from one to two. With the Descentralizado came the creation of the Copa Perú which was an amateur national football tournament contested by teams outside of the Lima and Callao provinces. A national second division still did not exist yet. Thus, the Segunda División was only contested by teams from within the Lima and Callao provinces allowing both tournaments to promote at least one team at the end of each season. The 1966 season had conditioned the four countryside-based teams. They had to finish the season above eighth place in order to avoid relegation. Of the four teams, only Grau was fortunate enough to place above the set requirement. Melgar, Alfonso Ugarte (Ch), and Octavio Espinoza were relegated but immediately played in the finals of the first Copa Perú in which both Alfonso Ugarte (Ch) and Octavio Espinoza were able to return to the top flight for 1967 along with newcomer Juan Aurich.
The second edition of Peru's new national football championship was played in the same manner as the first edition; 14 teams and each team playing 26 matches. Juan Aurich of Chiclayo was the fifth countryside team to participate in the Descentralizado. Universitario successfully defended their title. In the Torneo Descentralizado's third edition, Juan Aurich notably tied with Sporting Cristal at the end of the season for first place. The championship was to be defined in a single playoff match in the Estadio Nacional. Sporting Cristal won the playoff 21 but Juan Aurich, as runner-up, qualified for the Copa Libertadores. In the Descentralizado's fourth season, the tournament format was modified. The tournament was played in two stages. The first stage had each team playing all the other teams once. In the second stage, the top 6 teams advanced to a championship group with the national title in dispute and the bottom 8 teams advanced to a relegation group where the bottom two teams were relegated at the end of the season. Universitario won the 1969 season for their third Descentralizado title and Defensor Arica qualified to their first and only Copa Libertadores.
The 1970 Torneo Descentralizado was affected by the Peru national football team's qualification to the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico. Therefore, it was agreed upon that the season would not start the week following Peru's exit from the Cup. Thus, on June 19, one week after Peru's quarterfinal elimination at the hands of Brazil, the 1970 season kicked off at the Estadio Nacional with a 0–0 result between Municipal and Octavio Espinoza. Sporting Cristal was the eventual champion, claiming their second national title. The 1971 season expanded to 16 teams from the original 14. Universitario went on to win a fourth national title and qualified to the 1972 Copa Libertadores, in which they reached the final to play against Independiente of Argentina. The 1972 Torneo Descentralizado was won by Sporting Cristal tallying 3 national titles. For the 1973 season, the league was again expanded, this time to 18 teams. Defensor Lima made history becoming the national champion after 7 seasons seeing championships won by Universitario and Sporting Cristal.
Following Peru's elimination in the World Cup Qualifiers, the government of Peru ordered the national league be expanded to 22 teams. Each team played 42 matches with the top 6 teams playing an additional 5 matches against each other to determine the champion. Universitario extended their title count to 5 while Unión Huaral qualified to their first Copa Libertadores. For 1975, the teams were reduced to 18 but played in the same manner as 1974. Alianza Lima won their first national championship. Alfonso Ugarte tied with Universitario for second place forcing an extra match for the second Peruvian team to qualify to the Copa Libertadores. Alfonso Ugarte won 54 in a penalty shootout after 00 draw. The following season also underwent a team reduction. 16 teams disputed the 1976 Descentralizado which finished with Unión Huaral and Sport Boys tied for first. Unión Huaral won the title-deciding match by 20. Unión Huaral won a historic first national championship becoming the first team outside the Lima–Callao hub. With the World Cup in Argentina coming up, the government of Peru decided to give economic support in order to bring several Peruvian players back to Peru. Alianza Lima won the 1977 season claiming their second national title.
As in 1970, Peru's participation in the 1978 FIFA World Cup affected the start of the 1978 Torneo Descentralizado. The tournament initiated on July 5, however, a minor tournament was played with the 16 teams in the months leading to the World Cup. Coronel Bolognesi won the minor tournament but the tournament did award Bolognesi anything that would benefit them in the Descentralizado. Alianza Lima successfully defended its 1977 title, becoming national champion for the third time. Sporting Cristal won both the 1979 and 1980 to tie Universitario for 5 national titles. Atlético Chalaco and Torino qualified to their first Copa Libertadores via the 1979 and 1980 seasons respectively. The following season Melgar made Descentralizado history by becoming the first and only team outside the Lima Region to win the national championship. Melgar finished the 1981 season 1 point ahead of Universitario, who lost to Municipal in the playoff matches to decide the second Peruvian team in the 1982 Copa Libertadores. This was Municipal's first and only participation in the Copa Libertadores.
In 1982, Peru was to compete in the 1982 FIFA World Cup and consequently, the season was played similarly to 1978. A minor tournament was played in the months leading up to the World Cup which was won by Sporting Cristal. The 1982 Torneo Descentralizado began on July 18—one week after the World Cup final. The season was divided into several group stages and Universitario won its sixth national title, 2 points ahead of rival Alianza Lima in the final group stage. Melgar came close to winning the 1983 season but the victor was Sporting Cristal, tying Universitario in national titles for 6 each. For the 1983 Torneo Descentralizado, the season was played in two stages with 17 teams. The top 6 teams at the end of the first stage advanced to a final group stage which was won by Sporting Cristal, after Melgar failed to maintain their first stage lead. The following season was played with 25 teams divided into four region-based groups. Fourteen teams advanced from the regional group stages into the 1984 Torneo Descentralizado which was Sport Boys first season as national champion. Universitario won a 7th championship in 1985.
In 1986, San Agustín made history after defeating Alianza Lima in the 1986 Torneo Descentralizado final. This was only their second season in the top division. In 1987, Universitario and Alianza Lima faced off in the final of the season. Universitario won 1–0. The 1988 season was split into 2 regional tournaments in which its winners would face in the season final—format that would last until 1991. The regional champions Universitario and Sporting Cristal faced off. Sporting Cristal lifted the national championship after a 2–1 victory. In 1989, Unión Huaral and Sporting Cristal were contesting the final and won by Unión Huaral to win their second national championship. The 1990 season—played with a record 44 teams—was won by Universitario with a 4–2 victory over Sport Boys in the final, totaling 9 national championships. The following season—the last time regional tournaments would be used—was won by Sporting Cristal in a penalty shootout against Universitario in the final, resulting in a sum of 8 national championships.