Soccer Betting - Primera División Peruana

History - Facts - Teams - Winners

The Peruvian First Division is the top category of soccer and it is constituted by the Federación Peruana de Fútbol. Currently, there are 12 teams in the first division.

From the start of the 20th century soccer was played in Peru by British residents and a league of small groups was formed in the capital Lima in 1912. It was not until approximately 10 years later when the Federación Peruana de Fútbol was founded. Then four years later the Liga Nacional de futbol was introduced, but it was not quite a national league as only clubs from the Lima area or Central area could participate.

Until the introduction of a proper national league in 1966, the league in Lima was the strongest and the winners were regarded as national champions. Traditionally, the strongest teams have always been from Lima and some of these are:

Alianza Lima also known as the "club of the poor", Universitario known as the "club of the rich", Sporting Cristal and from nearby Callao, Sport Boys, it is important to mention that since the league opened up, teams from several other regions have begun to have more dominance and presence.

In particular, a team from Cuzco, Cienciano, has been the only Peruvian team to win international tournaments. This was the 2003 Copa Sudamericana and the 2004 ReCopa Sudamericana, though it has yet to win the domestic championship.