2026 Liga 2 (Peru)
| Season | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 27 March – November 2026 |
| Relegated | San Marcos |
| Matches | 8 |
| Goals | 19 (2.38 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Breidy Golúz (2 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Deportivo Llacuabamba 3–0 Carlos A. Mannucci (29 March) |
| Biggest away win | San Marcos 0–3 Unión Comercio (27 March) |
| Highest scoring | Comerciantes 3–2 Sport Huancayo II (29 March) |
← 2025 2027 → | |
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.[1]
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 from 2025 Liga 3 |
Promoted from 2025 Copa Perú |
Relegated from 2025 Liga 1 |
Promoted to 2026 Liga 1 |
Relegated to 2026 Liga 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Sport Huancayo II (1st) Estudiantil CNI (2nd) |
Unión Minas (1st) |
 Ayacucho (17th) Alianza Universidad (18th) Binacional (Disqualified) |
Cajamarca (1st) Deportivo Moquegua (2nd) |
Deportivo Coopsol (15th) |
Stadia and locations
| Team | City | Stadium[2] | Capacity[3] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academia Cantolao | Callao | Miguel Grau | 17,000 |
| ADA | Jaén | Víctor Montoya Segura | 9,000 |
| Alianza Universidad | Huánuco | Heraclio Tapia | 25,000 |
| Ayacucho | Ayacucho | Las Américas | 6,400 |
| Bentín Tacna Heroica | Tacna | Jorge Basadre | 19,850 |
| Binacional | Juliaca | Guillermo Briceño Rosamedina | 20,030 |
| Carlos A. Mannucci | Trujillo | Mansiche | 25,036 |
| Comerciantes | Iquitos | Max Augustín | 24,576 |
| Deportivo Llacuabamba | Huamachuco | Municipal de Huamachuco | 5,000 |
| Estudiantil CNI | Iquitos | Max Augustín | 24,576 |
| Pirata | Chongoyape | Municipal de la Juventud | 2,500 |
| San Marcos | Huaraz | Rosas Pampa | 18,000 |
| Santos | Nazca | Municipal de Nasca | 10,000 |
| Sport Huancayo II | Huancayo | Huancayo | 20,000 |
| Unión Comercio | Tarapoto | Carlos Vidaurre García | 7,000 |
| Unión Minas | Cerro de Pasco | Daniel Alcides Carrión | 12,000 |
| Universidad César Vallejo | Trujillo | César Acuña Peralta | 2,000 |
| Universidad San Martín | Lima | Villa Deportiva USMP | 1,249 |
Regional Stage
Group 1
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | UCO | LLA | PIR | CAM | USM | UCV | ADA | CAN | SMA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Unión Comercio | 13 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 17 | 3 | +14 | 28 | Advance to Group stage | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | – | 1–0 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 3–0 | ||
| 2 | Deportivo Llacuabamba | 13 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 20 | 6 | +14 | 26 | – | – | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | |||
| 3 | Pirata | 14 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 23 | 16 | +7 | 24 | 1–2 | 3–1 | – | 3–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | |||
| 4 | Carlos A. Mannucci | 14 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 16 | 10 | +6 | 24 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | – | 3–0 | |||
| 5 | Universidad San Martín | 13 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 22 | 14 | +8 | 20 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | – | 3–1 | – | 3–0 | |||
| 6 | Universidad César Vallejo | 13 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 14 | 10 | +4 | 19 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | – | 2–1 | 3–0 | |||
| 7 | ADA | 13 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 15 | Qualification for Relegation group | – | 0–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | – | ||
| 8 | Academia Cantolao | 13 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 14 | 24 | −10 | 10 | 0–1 | – | 1–1 | 1–4 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 5–1 | |||
| 9 | San Marcos (R) | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 44 | −43 | 0 | Retired | 0–3 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 0–3 | – | 0–3 | 0–3 |
(R) Relegated
Group 2
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | BEN | CFC | AUH | AYA | UMI | SAN | SHU | CNI | BIN | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bentín Tacna Heroica | 14 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 18 | 11 | +7 | 25 | Advance to Group stage | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | – | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | ||
| 2 | Comerciantes | 14 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 19 | 13 | +6 | 23 | 2–2 | 1–0 | – | 2–2 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | |||
| 3 | Alianza Universidad | 13 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 19 | 13 | +6 | 21 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 3–2 | – | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | |||
| 4 | Ayacucho | 14 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 18 | 14 | +4 | 19 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | – | 1–0 | 7–1 | |||
| 5 | Unión Minas | 13 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 20 | 10 | +10 | 18 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | – | – | 3–0 | 0–0 | |||
| 6 | Santos | 13 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 14 | 16 | −2 | 18 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–3 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | – | 3–1 | |||
| 7 | Sport Huancayo II | 13 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 11 | 13 | −2 | 18 | Qualification for Relegation group | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–3[4] | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | – | ||
| 8 | Estudiantil CNI | 13 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 20 | 16 | +4 | 13 | – | 2–2 | – | 0–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 9–0 | |||
| 9 | Binacional | 13 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 9 | 42 | −33 | 6 | 0–3 | – | – | 0–2 | 1–8 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 |
Top scorers
- As of 19 July 2026
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Mathías López |
Bentín Tacna Heroica | 7 |
| 2 |  Breidy Golúz |
Unión Comercio | 6 |
| 3 |  Maximiliano Zárate |
Deportivo Llacuabamba | 5 |
| 4 |  Austing Arteaga |
Universidad San Martín de Porres | 4 |
| 5 |  Ángel Ledesma |
Alianza Universidad | 4 |
| 6 | Alexis Rojas |
Santos FC | 4 |
| 7 | Héctor Zeta |
Alianza Universidad | 3 |
| 8 | Panizo |
Comerciantes FC | 3 |
| 9 | Chase Villanueva |
Comerciantes FC | 3 |
| 10 | Mateo Gutiérrez |
Academia Cantolao | 3 |
| 11 | Alexandro Fánarraga |
Ayacucho FC | 3 |
See also
References
- ↑ Uno menos: FC San Marcos decidió retirarse de la Liga 2 por problemas económicos
- ↑ Most stadiums are owned by the Instituto Peruano del Deporte (IPD).
- ↑ "Peru". fussballtempel.net. Archived from the original on 25 February 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
- ↑ Although the match had ended in a 1–1 draw, the Disciplinary Committee of the Professional Football League later awarded a 3–0 victory to Alianza Universidad due to Sport Huancayo B fielding an ineligible player.
External links
- Official website (in Spanish)
- Peruvian Segunda División news at Peru.com (in Spanish)
- Peruvian Segunda División statistics and news at Dechalaca.com (in Spanish)
- Peruvian Segunda División news at SegundaPerú.com (in Spanish)
- RSSSF