FBC Melgar

The Foot Ball Club Melgar, also known as FBC Melgar or Melgar, is a Peruvian professional football club based in Arequipa. It is one of Peru's oldest football teams, founded 25 March 1915 under the name Juventud Melgar by a group of football enthusiasts from Arequipa. The club currently competes in the Peruvian Primera División, the top tier of Peruvian football. The team first participated in the Peruvian football league in 1919 and later was invited to the first true National football league, the Torneo Descentralizado, in 1966, when four teams from the Provinces were invited to join the league. Previously, only teams from Lima and Callao had been allowed to compete for the championship. Due to a low finish the first year, Melgar was dropped from the league after the first year. After winning the Copa Perú they returned to the Primera División where they have remained to this day. Melgar won the Primera División for the first time in 1981 and 2015. FBC Melgar has had a long-standing rivalry with Cienciano of Cusco, known as the Clásico del Sur. The rivalry is one of the oldest in Peru. Melgar also has rivalries with FBC Aurora, Sportivo Huracán and FBC Piérola. The club began playing its home games at the Estadio Mariano Melgar, but moved to the Estadio Monumental Virgen de Chapi when it was built in 1990, with a capacity of 40,370. Along with a men's team, Melgar also has a women's football team that participates in the Liga Femenina.