Tiers – Primera División.

Cup Competitions – None.

Other Competitions – None.

Overview.

The Peruvian league lacks some of the glamour and prestige of its South American neighbours but that’s not to say that it’s not an enjoyable league to play in, especially as for the most part the clubs are relatively evenly matched. But what does that mean for your FM experience? Basically, the average FM player should be able to start a game with almost any of the teams available and challenge for the title in the first season. Admittedly you may not have lots of cash to spend and big name players (especially foreigners) are few and far between, but Peru is without a doubt a simple and enjoyable league to play. If you’re looking for a relatively easy run to the title, look no further than Sporting Cristal, Alianza Lima or Cienciano. Clubs with potential include Sport Boys (who not only play in pink but also have a stadium painted pink) and Universitario. For a more challenging game you should look to the relatively poor Coronel Bolognesi or José Gálvez.

Primera División.

As with most other South American leagues the Peruvian Primera División employs a split season, however unlike some of the other leagues Peru has no play-off to determine its champion – finish top of the table and you win the league. Relegation is also straight forward, with the club finishing bottom dropping out of the division. The Opening Stage runs from the first weekend in March through to the last weekend of June and during this time the twelve clubs will play each other twice. This situation is mirrored in the Closing Stage which runs from the second weekend in August to the middle of December, making for a combined total of 44 games per season.

Peru employs the standard three points for a win and one for a draw system with any teams tied on point separated by the following methods:

  • Goal difference;
  • Goals scored.

There are two transfer windows available for clubs to conduct player deals, the early season window, which allows players to be bought and sold throughout the months of January, February and March, and the mid-season window which opens for the month of July. Managers need to buy and sell carefully during these windows though as Peru has a limit of six foreign players per club.

The match-day squad in Peru allows for the naming of seven substitutes, of which three may be used. However, it should be noted that while your club may employ up to six foreign players, only three may be named in the match-day squad.

For every five yellow cards shown to a player, he will receive a one-match ban. Red cards also carry a standard one-match ban which may be increased upon review depending on the reason for its issue.