| Football in Peru | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Country | Peru |
| Governing body | FPF |
| National team | Peru |
| First played | 1867; 158 years ago (1867) |
| National competitions | |
| Club competitions | |
| International competitions | |
Football is the most popular sport inPeru. According to a survey, 77.3% of Peruvians were interested in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, demonstrating the country's strong passion for football.[1]
Football in Peru was introduced by British immigrants,Peruvians returning from Great Britain, and by English sailors in the later half of the 19th century during their frequent stops at the port ofCallao, which at that point was considered one of the most important ports of the Pacific Ocean.[2][3] According to the work entitledLa Difusión del Fútbol en Lima, during the last decade of the 19th century, records show that sailors were known to practice sports such asfootball/soccer and played against teams made up of Englishmen, Peruvians, or a mix between Englishmen and Peruvians.
Lima is home to an important sporting institution, it was founded in 1845 by English immigrants asSalon de Comercio, renamed in 1859 as theLima Cricket Club, and was based around the sports ofcricket,rugby, andfootball, the club underwent many other name changes such as in 1865 toLima Cricket and Lawn Tennis Club and in 1906 toLima Cricket and Football Club.[4][5][6] During theWar of the Pacific (1879 - 1883), the destruction of various Peruvian towns and cities, including the raid ofLima, brought the spread of sport in Peru to a momentary stop.[2] The oldest football records are found for aCallao vs. Lima match on August 7, 1892,[2] and anEnglishmen vs. Peruvian match on June 24, 1894.[6]
After the war, thesports rivalry that evolved between the foreigners and the Chalacos began to gain much attention from people elsewhere. As a result, the popularity of the sport eventually extended toLima, and even though at first the sport was played without the formality of sports clubs, a few clubs were eventually created in order to continue its practice in the early 20th century. Among these early clubs of theamateur era were theEnglish community'sLima Cricket Club founded in 1859[7] although it is unclear when they first played football, their oldest recorded match having been played on August 7, 1892.[2] They were followed by the PeruvianCiclista Lima Association (Lima, 1896),[8] andAtlético Chalaco (Callao, 1899).[9]
In the 1900s, due to the construction of thePanama Canal, the port of Callao was no longer flooded with the quantity of foreign sailors and travelers that had at one point made the port a point of muchcultural diffusion.[10] Nonetheless, by this moment more Peruvian cities had developed their own football clubs and leagues, the most important being those of Lima,Cusco, andArequipa. Some of the most important new clubs founded at this time wereAlianza Lima (Lima, 1901),[11]Cienciano (Cusco, 1901),[12][13]FBC Melgar (Arequipa, 1915),[14][15] theItalian community'sCircolo Sportivo Italiano (Lima, 1917),[16]Atlético Grau (Piura, 1919),[8][17]Alianza Atletico (Sullana, 1920),[8]Universitario de Deportes (Lima, 1924),[18]Sport Boys (Callao, 1927),[8][19] andCoronel Bolognesi (Tacna, 1929).[20] As such, the sport rapidly grew in Peru, but the most important amateur league (thePeruvian Football League) stayed in the capital province where a new football rivalry arose between the participating clubs of Lima and the clubs of Callao.[21] Yet, the lack of a central organization often brought much conflict between the teams, and such a situation eventually escalated into a conflict that led to the creation of thePeruvian Football Federation in 1922 and a new Peruvian Football League tournament under the regulation of said organization in 1926.[22]
The following list is the known first friendly matches according to the data published in the newspapers of that time.
| Year | Team 1 | Score | Team 2 | Ground |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1895 | Lima Cricket | 1–0 | Unión Cricket | Campo Santa Sofía |
| 1897 | Lima Cricket | 3–1 | Unión Cricket | Campo Santa Sofía |
| 1899 | Lima Cricket | 0–2 | Unión Cricket | Campo Santa Sofía |
| 1902 | Atlético Chalaco | 0–1 | Sport Victoria | Pampa del Mar Bravo |
| 1908 | Lima Cricket | 3–1 | Unión Cricket | Campo Santa Sofía |
| Lima Cricket | 4–1 | Unión Cricket | Campo Santa Sofía | |
| Atlético Chalaco | 1–0 | Association FBC | Pampa del Mar Bravo | |
| 1909 | Lima Cricket | 2–0 | Unión Cricket | Campo Santa Sofía |
| Unión Cricket | 1–0 | Atlético Chalaco | Campo Santa Beatriz | |
| 1910 | Sport Alianza | 2–0 | Sport Lima | Campo Manzanilla |
Even though the Peruvian Football Federation had joinedCONMEBOL in 1925,[23][24] the re-structuring of the national league prevented the creation of a national football team that would be able to participate in the South American Championships of1925 and1926. Moreover, even though in the club level Peru had a series of strong teams, the Peru national team for the 1929South American Championship was the first successful attempt at a Peru national team. Their first game played against Uruguay (recent winners of the Football Olympics), showed a largely disunited team still trying to mold into a team. The disunity could largely be blamed on class conflict and racial discrimination. The first fielded team was built largely of players fromAlianza Lima andUniversitario de Deportes, the former being composed of working-class men and the later of white university students. Alianza players felt more loyal to their local team than to the national team, and when it became clear that they were being segregated from the rest of the team and left out of the starting IX, they resigned from the national team before play at the South American Cup; they lost every match. The Football Federation approached the Alianza players again, and offered them reinstatement. Alianza agreed to the federation's terms, and played in the 1930 World Cup.[25]
The time that followed saw the appearance of a group of excellent Peruvian football players that would help further expand the popularity of the sport not only in Peru, but also in other countries of South America. During the 1920s and 1930s, Peruvian clubs made a series of international tours across South America due to the high demand of the skill of their players in places such asColombia,[26]Venezuela,[27][28] and inChile.[29][30] Peru's art of skill and technique of association football was felt and given a highly positive look in these many countries. In Colombia, the appearance ofCiclista Lima Association allegedly made the Colombian crowds "vibrate with excitement" as they anticipated much skill from the Peruvian squad.[31] In 1928, the Peruvian clubAtlético Chalaco made a tour in Chile and defeated seven Chilean teams they faced and only lost toColo-Colo.[29] In 1933Alianza Lima made a tour in Chile and, with Peruvians such asTeodoro Fernandez andAlejandro Villanueva, delighted the audiences with their skill and defeated a series of important Chilean clubs of that time such asClub Deportivo Magallanes,Santiago Wanderers,Audax Italiano, andColo-Colo.[32][33] In Peru,Alejandro Villanueva is often remembered as one of the finest exponents of that nation's association football and as the player that amazed the crowds with his bicycle kicks which the people of Lima at first thought was his invention when he executed it in 1928 and it was called "tiro caracol" and, later, upon learning of its roots in Callao, once again calledchalaca.[34] In 1930, they were invited to participate in a new intercontinental competition to be held in Montevideo, Uruguay, the firstFIFA World Cup.
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The1930 FIFA World Cup was an interesting experience for all the teams participating. For the Peruvian team, their first match against theRomania national football team was filled with problems as the Romanians and Peruvians played a rough match that eventually led to a broken leg for one of the Romanian players. This and several other incidents on the field, such as the first-minute goal by Romania, soon led to the World Cup's first player dismissed, the Peruvian Plácido Galindo.[35] After all the commotion was settled due to this decision by the referee, Peru was able to momentarily tie the game. Nevertheless, the lack of a player and the inexperience of the national side gave (after two consecutive goals) a pleasing 3–1 result to Romania.[36][37][38] Afterwards, in the match against the hosts, Uruguay, that would inaugurate theEstadio Centenario, Peru played an allegedly formidable game against theCharruas. In fact, Peru lost only by one goal to Uruguay, thus showing a sign of improvement from the past 1929 result against Uruguay (who would later go on to beat Romania 4-0 and eventually beat Argentina to crown themselves champions of the tournament).
Later, during1936 Berlin Olympics, the team further showed how much they had improved since 1929. Largely with the squad of the 1930s, but with a new group of young stars, Peru made a great start by defeating theFinland national football team with a margin of 7–3. Even more surprisingly, the Peruvians defied all odds and managed to defeatAustria on a 4–2 result during over-time. Still, the team formally withdrew due to problems with the German government's intervention causing theInternational Olympic Committee to nullify Peru's victory against Austria and ordering a re-match.[39][40] Even though the team was already making history, their perseverance would soon lead them to the consolidation of their grandeur. In 1938, Peru's first international title would finally come during the firstBolivarian Games, which Peru won after winning all their games against the football teams ofBolivia,Ecuador,Colombia, andVenezuela.[41][42] Then, further consolidating their status as Peru's first golden generation, the national squad won Peru's firstSouth American Championship (later known asCopa América) in 1939.[43][44][45] Once again, the national squad lost none of its matches and in their path to the finals defeated Ecuador, Chile, and Paraguay. For the final, Peru had to yet again face Uruguay, but this time the team was able to overcome the challenge and defeated Uruguay by a close margin of 2–1.[46] Peruvian playerTeodoro Fernández became the tournament's maximum goal scorer with 7 goals, and currently retains the historic second place of the competition. As a result of these many titles, victories, and important showings, the early years of Peru's football history went extraordinarily well, and the team was able to effectively build its game along with the increasing competition of the CONMEBOL region.
Nonetheless, due to a series of internal problems, Peru's football years after this first golden generation did not involve any other major accomplishments. The 1940s and 1950s flew by with only the achievements of a gold and bronze medal at the Bolivarian Games, and a couple of third places in the Copa América. During the 1960s Peru began to slowly show signs of improvement as the team won the Bolivarian Games of Barranquilla and qualified for the1960 Summer Olympics held inRome.[47][48] Even though the team was only capable of beating theIndia national football team after losing toFrance andHungary, the squad once again began to give its fans bright hopes for the future.
Once into the 1970s, the Peruvian "Blanquirrojas" rose with a spark of international victories and a string of young football stars that made the team once more a major competitive force in the world of football. Players likeTeófilo Cubillas,[49][50]Pedro Pablo Leon,[51][52]Héctor Chumpitaz,[53][54]Ramon Mifflin,Hugo Sotil,Roberto Challe, andCésar Cueto, helped make South American football a fierce competitor of European football at a time when teams throughout the world were becoming better at this sport.[55] The participations of Peru in the 1970, 1978, and 1982 FIFA World Cups made the national team once again leave its mark in international competitions as the world saw with awe the elegant and technical play of a Peruvian squad that had a thirst for victory.[56] The participation of Peru in the1970 FIFA World Cup remains as one of the most memorable as the squad caused sensation as they advanced into the quarterfinals after first eliminatingArgentina in the qualifiers,[57][58][59] defeatingBulgaria 3–2 after trailing 0–2,[60][61] losing 3–1 toGermany,[62] and defeatingMorocco 3–0. Moreover, their game against Brazil, which they lost 4–2, is usually considered one of the best World Cup games to have ever been played. Not only that, but in1975 Peru achieved its secondCopa América title, and thus another set of players consolidated their mark in Peruvian sports history. Furthermore, the Peruvian squad once more took the title of football champions at the Bolivarian Games twice during these times. Along with an increase of better teams within the Peruvian league, Peru kept up its game up well into the late 1980s.
Heading towards the 21st century, the 1990s were not very good years for the Peruvian football team. The terrible1987 Alianza Lima air disaster further crushed the hopes for the team as a series of good players ready to play for the national team died. Although there were still several good players likeJulio César Uribe,Nolberto Solano,Claudio Pizarro, andJosé del Solar, the team was no longer the "Golden Team" of the 70s. In terms of Copa América, the squad could only go as far as the quarterfinals before getting eliminated. Meanwhile, in the World Cup qualifiers, the team was not able to even get close to reaching another FIFA tournament until 1998, but that dream was also thwarted by a goal difference withChile. The only important title the team won during these years was the Kirin Cup, where they shared first place withBelgium.[63][64]
The early 21st century brought with it the same Peruvian team, a shadow of its former self. Nevertheless, the squad began getting new revivals once the team began getting new young players with new hopes and goals. As the years kept going, Peruvian football once more started to give signs of vitality as local teams from the league began doing rather well in international competitions. Yet, the results were still vastly the same for the Peruvian team in terms of both the Copa América and the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. Quite surprisingly, Peru was able to do well when they were invited to participate in theCONCACAF Gold Cup and even won another Kirin Cup in 2005. Meanwhile, in 2007, the football fans of Peru received another great surprise as the nationalU-17 squad qualified and reached the quarterfinals (for their first time) of their FIFA World Cup. With young star players likeJefferson Farfán andJosé Paolo Guerrero had given new hopes to fans that things would turn around for the better.Nonetheless, the possibilities of Peru securing a CONMEBOL place for the2010 FIFA World Cup have completely vanished since the team has tumbled to the bottom of the qualification table.[65]
In 2011 Peru won the Kirin Cup tournament,[66][67][68] and earned third place in the2011 Copa América.[69] In early 2015, businessmanEdwin Oviedo became FPF president, succeeding Burga, who two years later faced charges ofracketeering,wire fraud, andmoney laundering in a football corruption trial in theUnited States.[70][71] The FPF's new leadership appointedRicardo Gareca as Peru's manager in March 2015.[72] After coaching the national team to a third place in the 2015 Copa América and to the quarterfinals of theCopa América Centenario, Gareca qualified Peru for theRussia 2018 World Cup finals.[73][74]
Outside its senior side, Peru also has theOlympic/U-23,U-20 andU-17 teams. Awomen's team also competes in other South American competitions.
In spite of its rich men's senior records, its youth teams have been mostly the lackluster of CONMEBOL competitions. The Olympic side of Peru has not qualified for theSummer Olympics since it became an U-23 competition in 1992. The U-20 team has competed in everySouth American Youth Football Championship but it has never qualified for anyFIFA U-20 World Cup. Meanwhile, Peru has only managed to qualify for only oneFIFA U-17 World Cup in2007, outside being host of the2005 FIFA U-17 World Cup. The women's team has never reachedFIFA Women's World Cup, and has mainly competed in theCopa América Femenina.
Stadiums with a capacity of 30,000 or higher are included.
| # | Image | Stadium | Capacity | City | Home team(s) | Opened |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Estadio Monumental "U" | 80,093 | Lima | Universitario | 2000 |
| 2 |  | Estadio Monumental de la UNSA | 60,370 | Arequipa | Melgar | 1995 |
| 3 | .jpg) | Estadio Nacional | 53,086 | Lima | Peru | 1952 |
| 4 |  | Estadio Garcilaso | 45,056 | Cusco | Cienciano Cusco FC Deportivo Garcilaso | 1950 |
| 5 |  | Estadio Alejandro Villanueva | 35,938 | Lima | Alianza Lima | 1974 |
| 6 | Estadio Universidad San Marcos | 32,000 | Lima | Universidad San Marcos | 1951 | |
| 7 |  | Estadio Manuel Rivera Sánchez | 32,000 | Chimbote | José Gálvez | 2007 |
| 8 | Estadio Monumental de la UNA | 30,000 | Puno | Alfonso Ugarte de Puno | 2022 |
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