Football league
The Peruvian Third Division, officially known as Liga 3, is the third-highest division in the Peruvian football league system. It is a semi-professional and promotional division organized by the Peruvian Football Federation since its creation in 2025.[1] The Liga 3 is contested by 36 teams, with promotion to the Liga 2 and relegation to the Copa Perú. [2]
The idea of a third division was discussed by the Peruvian Football Federation in 2019. The president of the National Amateur Football Commission, Luis Duarte Plata, had planned to replace Copa Perú with the Liga 3 and hold the last edition in 2020; during the Departmental Stage of said tournament, the 25 champions would participate in the first edition of Liga 3 in 2021.[3] However, the Peruvian Football Federation decided to cancel the 2020 edition of the Copa Perú while the District Stage was in development due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in the pause of the creation of the Liga 3.
In 2022, the Peruvian Football Federation, through the National Subcommission of Amateur Football, decided to reconsider the idea of a new League that would be the first step towards professionalization for clubs coming from the Copa Perú. This idea was embodied by President Agustín Lozano through the "reforms of Peruvian football", which would have as their first important change the elimination of promotion to the First Division from the Copa Perú.[4]
Between the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024, the creation of Liga 3 was a request and requirement established by FIFA. The creation of the third division means that the Copa Perú will be moved down tier.[5][6] In 2024, the Peruvian Football Federation, taking into account CONMEBOL's observations, then decides that the Copa Perú would be the tournament that decides the participants in a meritorious manner, based on the original idea from years ago: the 25 representatives of each department that are best placed in the final table of the 2024 Copa Perú's National Stage, whether the departmental champion or runner-up and except for those promoted to Liga 2, will be the clubs that will play the first edition of Liga 3 in the year 2025.[7]
A format for the Liga 3 has yet to be announced.
Initially, it had been planned that the 2025 season would be played with 32 teams: 1 relegated from Peruvian Segunda División in 2024, 6 teams qualified from the 2024 Torneo de Reservas and 25 teams promoted from the 2024 Copa Perú. However, after the administrative relegation of Unión Huaral and Juan Aurich, from Liga 2 at the beginning of the season, in addition to the increase to eight of the qualifiers since the 2024 Torneo de Promoción y Reserva, this number was expanded to 36.[8] Deportivo Municipal's disqualification from the 2024 Liga 2 caused the 2025 Liga 3 season to increase to 37, one more than the initial number of 36.
Locations of the 2025 Liga 3 teams
| Team | City | Stadium[9] | Capacity[10] |
| ADT II | Tarma | Unión Tarma | 9,100 |
| Alto Rendimiento | Puerto Maldonado | IPD de Puerto Maldonado | 2,000 |
| Alianza Lima II | Lima | Esther Grande de Bentín | – |
| Carlos Stein | Chongoyape | Municipal de la Juventud | 2,500 |
| Cienciano II | Cusco | Thomas E. Payne | 8,000 |
| Deportivo Municipal | Lima | Iván Elías Moreno | 11,000 |
| Juan Aurich | Lambayeque | César Flores Marigorda | 7,000 |
| Melgar II | Arequipa | CAR - FBC Melgar | – |
| Sport Boys II | Callao | Campolo Alcalde | 2,000 |
| Sport Huancayo II | Huancayo | Huancayo | 20,000 |
| Unión Huaral | Chancay | Julio Lores Colán | 6,000 |
| UDA | Huancavelica | IPD de Huancavelica | 8,500 |
| Universidad César Vallejo II | Trujillo | Villa Poeta | – |
| Universitario II | Lima | Campo Mar - U | – |
| Amazonas 1 | | | |
| Áncash 1 | | | |
| Apurímac 1 | | | |
| Arequipa 1 | | | |
| Ayacucho 1 | | | |
| Cajamarca 1 | | | |
| Callao 1 | | | |
| Cusco 1 | | | |
| Huánuco 1 | | | |
| Ica 1 | | | |
| Junín 1 | | | |
| La Libertad 1 | | | |
| Lambayeque 1 | | | |
| Lima 1 | | | |
| Loreto 1 | | | |
| Moquegua 1 | | | |
| Pasco 1 | | | |
| Piura 1 | | | |
| Puno 1 | | | |
| San Martín 1 | | | |
| Tacna 1 | | | |
| Tumbes 1 | | | |
| Ucayali 1 | | | |
| Ed. | Season | Champion | Runner-up |
1 | 2025 | | |
- FPF Official Federation Website
French
Deutsch
