1996 Torneo Descentralizado

The 1996 Torneo Descentralizado was the 81st season of the top category of Peruvian football. A total of 16 teams competed in the tournament. Sporting Cristal won its 13th first division title, completing a string of 3 consecutive titles starting in 1994. The feat is known as a tricampeonato and was previously accomplished only by Alianza Lima.

Changes from 1995

The tournament would be played like in 1994, where the champion was crowned after the first stage of the tournament and the second berth to the Copa Libertadores was determined by an end-of-season Liguilla featuring 4 teams.
Four teams were relegated instead of the customary two. Two teams from the Copa Perú and the Segunda División were promoted in their place.

Teams

Stadia locations

Team	City	Stadium	Capacity
Alianza Atlético	Sullana	Campeones del 36	8,000
Alianza Lima	Lima	Alejandro Villanueva	35,000
Atlético Torino	Talara	Campeonísimo	8,000
Aurich–Cañaña	Chiclayo	Elías Aguirre	24,500
Ciclista Lima	Lima	Nacional	45,750
Cienciano	Cusco	Garcilaso	42,056
Deportivo Municipal	Lima	Nacional	45,750
Deportivo Pesquero	Chimbote	Manuel Gómez Arellano	25,000
Guardia Republicana	Lima	Nacional	45,750
La Loretana	Pucallpa	Aliardo Soria	15,000
Melgar	Arequipa	Mariano Melgar	20,000
San Agustín	Lima	Nacional	45,750
Sport Boys	Callao	Miguel Grau	18,000
Sporting Cristal	Lima	San Martín de Porres	15,000
Unión Minas	Cerro de Pasco	Daniel Alcides Carrión	8,000
Universitario	Lima	Nacional	45,750

First stage

The first stage of the season was played as a double round-robin tournament. Sporting Cristal as champions qualified for the 1997 Copa Libertadores. Alianza Lima directly advanced to the end-of-season Liguilla and received a bonus point for placing second. The teams that placed 3 to 8 advanced to a preliminary round.

Pre-Liguilla

Universitario, Deportivo Pesquero, and Cienciano qualified for the Liguilla.

Liguilla Pre-Libertadores

All matches were played in Lima.