Copa Peru

About Copa Peru

Copa Peru History, Format, Organization, Media Coverage

The Copa Peru is an annual football tournament for lower-tier clubs in Peru. A select number of winners (currently four) of this competition gains promotion to Liga 2, which is the second-highest level of professional football in Peru.

It was founded in 1967 to give smaller, regional teams a chance at securing promotion to the top levels of professional football in the country. In previous years, winners in this competition also had a chance to be promoted to Liga 1 (the first division) but this was changed to just promotion to Liga 2 following a series of reforms created by Peru’s Football Association. Teams who perform poorly are demoted to the Ligas Departamentales, which is the fourth level of football in Peru.

In its current format, the Copa Peru is organized into five stages, starting with the District Stage, followed by the Provincial Stage, and finally the Department Stage. A total of 50 teams qualify from the Department Stage, during which each team plays three games at home and three away (six in total) against three different opponents.

The teams who finish 1-8 qualify for the round of 16, while teams finishing 9-24 head into a fourth stage known as the Repechage. Any team ranking 25 and below are automatically eliminated and have no chance at securing promotion to Liga 2.

The final four teams featuring in the semi-finals take part in a group stage game called La Finalísima, where each team plays each other. The winner and the runners-up from that group stage secure promotion to Liga 2.

Atlético Torino is one of the most successful teams in the Copa Peru, with more titles won than any other side.

Media broadcasts for the Copa Peru in Peru have been covered by various organizations since the tournament’s inception. In the early decades of the Copa Peru, the competition was first broadcast by TV Peru, the country’s state broadcaster. Starting from the early 1980s, a series of private TV networks secured rights, including América Televisión and Latina Televisión.

In the late 2010s, Movistar Deportes acquired TV and live-streaming rights for the Copa Peru in Peru, and in 2022, renewed its rights in a joint deal in conjunction with FTA, a free-to-air TV network. Movistar Deportes live-streams and broadcasts all Copa Peru matches live on its TV channels while FTA’s channels broadcast select matches during the tournament.