| Season | 1966 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 13 August 1966 – 19 February 1967 |
| Champions | Universitario 11th Primera División title |
| Relegated | Melgar Alfonso Ugarte de Chiclín Octavio Espinosa Carlos Concha |
| 1967 Copa Libertadores | Universitario Sport Boys |
| Matches played | 182 |
| Goals scored | 542 (2.98 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Teófilo Cubillas (19 goals) |
| ← 1965 1967 → | |
The 1966 Torneo Descentralizado was the 50th season of the highest division of Peruvian football. This season marked the first time the Primera División was named the Descentralizado because teams outside Lima and Callao were invited for the first time making it the first national championship in Peru. The four teams invited to play in the inaugural national championship were Melgar of Arequipa, Octavio Espinosa of Ica, Atlético Grau of Piura, and Alfonso Ugarte de Chiclín of Trujillo.
The first match of the season was played on 13 August 1966 between Universitario and Mariscal Sucre in the Estadio Nacional. Shortly after this match, the first match to feature a team outside the Lima and Callao region was between Sporting Cristal and Alfonso Ugarte in the same stadium on the same day.
The champion was Universitario. Four teams were relegated at the end of the season. Carlos Concha was relegated to the 1967 Segunda División as the last placed team. In addition, Octavio Espinosa, Alfonso Ugarte, and Melgar were relegated as they needed to place seventh or higher to remain in the first division. They needed to play the 1967 Copa Perú to attain promotion to the first division.
Teams
Team changes
| Promoted from 1965 Segunda División |
Invited | Relegated from 1965 Primera División |
|---|---|---|
 Mariscal Sucre (1st)
|
Alfonso Ugarte de Chiclín Atlético Grau Melgar Octavio Espinosa
|
 Ciclista Lima (10th)
|
Stadia locations
GrauOctavio EspinosaMelgar
Alfonso Ugarte
Alianza LimaCarlos Concha
Centro Iqueño
Defensor Arica
Defensor Lima
Mariscal Sucre
D. Municipal
Sporting Cristal
Sport Boys
Universitarioclass=notpageimage| Locations of the 1966 Primera División teams
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Universitario | 26 | 19 | 3 | 4 | 65 | 27 | +38 | 41 | 1967 Copa Libertadores |
| 2 | Sport Boys | 26 | 15 | 5 | 6 | 43 | 19 | +24 | 35 | |
| 3 | Alianza Lima | 26 | 14 | 5 | 7 | 58 | 34 | +24 | 33 | |
| 4 | Sporting Cristal | 26 | 12 | 6 | 8 | 36 | 25 | +11 | 30 | |
| 5 | Centro Iqueño | 26 | 13 | 4 | 9 | 31 | 27 | +4 | 30 | |
| 6 | Atlético Grau | 26 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 36 | 32 | +4 | 29 | |
| 7 | Defensor Lima | 26 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 49 | 36 | +13 | 28 | |
| 8 | Melgar | 26 | 12 | 4 | 10 | 41 | 32 | +9 | 28 | 1967 Copa Perú |
| 9 | Defensor Arica | 26 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 31 | 25 | +6 | 28 | |
| 10 | Mariscal Sucre | 26 | 7 | 7 | 12 | 30 | 40 | −10 | 21 | |
| 11 | Deportivo Municipal | 26 | 9 | 3 | 14 | 41 | 54 | −13 | 21 | |
| 12 | Alfonso Ugarte de Chiclín | 26 | 7 | 3 | 16 | 28 | 60 | −32 | 17 | 1967 Copa Perú |
| 13 | Octavio Espinosa | 26 | 3 | 6 | 17 | 24 | 52 | −28 | 12 | |
| 14 | Carlos Concha | 26 | 4 | 3 | 19 | 29 | 79 | −50 | 11 | 1967 Segunda División |
Season statistics
Top scorers
| Player | Nationality | Goals | Club |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teófilo Cubillas |  Peru
|
19 | Alianza Lima |
Scoring
- First goal of the season – Héctor Chumpitaz for Universitario against Mariscal Sucre (13 August 1966)
References
- ^ Castro, Roberto; Behr, Raúl (13 February 2009). "Descentralizado X-Files". dechalaca.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 September 2013.
- Behr, Raúl (13 February 2010). "Descentralizado ye-ye". dechalaca.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 September 2013.
- Nieto, Carlos; Pierrend, José. "Peru - List of Final Tables". RSSSF. Retrieved 3 September 2013.