The 2026 Liga 2 (known as the Liga 2 Caliente 2026 for sponsorship reasons) is the 74th edition of the second tier of Federación Peruana de Futbol.
On April 16, 2026, San Marcos issued a statement announcing its voluntary withdrawal from the current season of the Liga 2, due to economic and financial difficulties that prevent it from continuing its participation in the promotion tournament.Uno menos: FC San Marcos decidió retirarse de la Liga 2 por problemas económicos
Competition format Regional Stage
The tournament is played in groups based on the geographical distribution of the teams. Each group has 9 teams, which are divided into Group 1 and Group 2 respectively, where they play each other in a double round-robin format (home and away), for a total of 18 matchdays.
Group Stage
The top six teams from Group 1 and Group 2 will qualify for the next stage, known as the Final Phase. In this stage, three Championship Groups will be formed, each consisting of four teams.
At the start of these groups, the teams that finished first in each group, along with the best second-placed team, will begin with 2 additional points. Meanwhile, the other second-placed team and the teams that finished in third place will start with 1 additional point. Each group will play a total of six matchdays.
As for the remaining teams, they will be distributed into two triangular groups. In this phase, the teams that finished in ninth place in each group will start with a 1-point deduction.
Promotion Playoffs
The champion and the winner of the repechage (playoff) who will be promoted will be determined. This stage is divided into three rounds:
Semifinals: The three teams that finished first in the previous phase, along with the best second-placed team, will face each other in two-legged ties (home and away). The winners of these ties will qualify for the final, while the other two teams will play in a repechage.
Final and Repechage:
Matches will be played over two legs, with the higher-ranked team from the previous phase hosting the second leg:
Repechage: Loser 1 vs. Loser 2 Final (Champion): Winner 1 vs. Winner 2
The champion will be promoted to Liga1 2027, while the loser of the final will play an additional series against the winner of the repechage.
Runner-up Playoff:
This will be played as a single match, hosted by the losing team from the final:
Final loser vs. Repechage winner
The winner of this match will earn the second promotion spot and join the champion in Liga1 2027. In case of a draw, the winner will be decided by a penalty shootout.
Teams The following teams have changed division since the 2025 season: Team changes Promoted from2025 Liga 3 Promoted from2025 Copa Perú Relegated from2025 Liga 1 Promoted to2026 Liga 1 Relegated to2026 Liga 3 Sport Huancayo II Estudiantil CNI Unión Minas Ayacucho Alianza Universidad Binacional Cajamarca Deportivo Moquegua Deportivo Coopsol
Stadia and locations
Team City StadiumMost stadiums are owned by the Instituto Peruano del Deporte (IPD). CapacityAcademia Cantolao Callao Miguel Grau 17,000ADA Jaén Víctor Montoya Segura9,000Alianza Universidad Huánuco Heraclio Tapia 25,000AyacuchoAyacuchoLas Américas6,400 Bentín Tacna Heroica Tacna Jorge Basadre 19,850BinacionalJuliacaGuillermo Briceño Rosamedina20,030Carlos A. Mannucci Trujillo Mansiche 25,036Comerciantes Iquitos Max Augustín 24,576 Deportivo Llacuabamba Huamachuco Municipal de Huamachuco5,000Estudiantil CNIIquitosMax Augustín24,576Pirata Chongoyape Municipal de la Juventud2,500 San Marcos Huaraz Rosas Pampa18,000 Santos NazcaMunicipal de Nasca10,000Sport Huancayo IIHuancayo Huancayo 20,000Unión Comercio Tarapoto Carlos Vidaurre García 7,000Unión MinasCerro de PascoDaniel Alcides Carrión12,000Universidad César VallejoTrujilloCésar Acuña Peralta2,000Universidad San Martín Lima Villa Deportiva USMP1,249
Regional Stage Group 1
Group 2
Group stage Group A
Group B
Group C
Relegation group Group A
Group B
Top scorers
RankPlayerClubGoals1 Mathías López Bentín Tacna Heroica 72 Breidy GolúzUnión Comercio 63 Maximiliano ZárateDeportivo Llacuabamba54 Austing ArteagaUniversidad San Martín de Porres45 Ángel LedesmaAlianza Universidad 46 Alexis RojasSantos FC47 Héctor ZetaAlianza Universidad 38 PanizoComerciantes FC39 Chase VillanuevaComerciantes FC310 Mateo Gutiérrez Academia Cantolao311 Alexandro FánarragaAyacucho FC3
See also 2026 Copa de la Liga 2026 Liga 1 2026 Liga 3 2026 Copa Perú 2026 Ligas Departamentales del Perú 2026 Liga Femenina 2026 Liga Nacional Juvenil FPF
References
External links
Peruvian Segunda División news at Peru.com Peruvian Segunda División statistics and news at Dechalaca.com Peruvian Segunda División news at SegundaPerú.com RSSSF