Ayacucho FC

Ayacucho
Full nameAyacucho Fútbol Club
NicknamesLos Ñes
Los Zorros
Los Guerreros Wari
Los Gasíferos
La Fuerza de los Andes
Los Libertadores
FoundedAugust 9, 2008 (August 9, 2008)
GroundEstadio Ciudad de Cumaná
Capacity12,000
PresidentRolando Bellido
ManagerSergio Castellanos
LeagueLiga 2
2025Liga 1, 17th of 19 (relegated)
Websitehttps://www.facebook.com/ayacufc/

Ayacucho Fútbol Club, more popularly known as Ayacucho, is a Peruvian professional football club located in Ayacucho, Peru. The club finished as runner-up in the Second Division in 2008. The club currently participates in the Liga 2.

History

Beginnings

Founded in 2008 as Club Inti Gas Deportes Ayacucho, the club took over from Olímpico Somos Perú, which was then playing in the Second division.[1] Under the guidance of Colombian coach Édgar Ospina, they reached the top flight as runners-up in the second division.[2]

Inti Gas

In 2008, the club received sponsorship from the gas provider Inti Gas. They relocated to Huamanga, Ayacucho but they decided to play their home games in Ica because another Second Division team already had their home ground in Ayacucho and security issues that have risen. They were runners-up of the 2008 Second Division and were promoted to the 2009 First Division. Ayacucho has recently sought to permanently keep the club in its city.[1]

Ayacucho

In 2014, they officially changed their name to Ayacucho FC. 2020 brought the start of Ayacucho's golden age. The club placed 9th in the Torneo Apertura, of the 2020 season, but won the Torneo Clausura for the first time, after beating Sporting Cristal in the Fase 2 final.[3] However, because both teams drew on points, they entered the semi-finals of play-offs, against Sporting Cristal again. This time, Ayacucho lost 2–6 on aggregate, and placed third in the league. They would qualify for the Copa Libertadores for the first time but were eliminated by Grêmio in the second stage.

In the 2021 season, Ayacucho barely qualified for the Copa Sudamericana and qualified for the Group Stage, after defeating Sport Boys in the first stage. Ayacucho placed third is its group and was eliminated.

2022 would start the downfall of Ayacucho. In the Torneo Apertura of the 2022 season, Ayacucho placed last. On the aggregate table, they placed 17th, going to the relegation play-off, their only hope in staying in the Liga 1. Ayacucho played with Unión Comercio, and lost 3–0 in the first leg but came back 2–1 in the second but still lost 2–4 on aggregate, getting relegated to the Liga 2.[4]

In 2024, Ayacucho benefited from a court decision that required the Peruvian Football Federation to reinstate the club in the 1st division from the 2025 season.[5] But the experience was short-lived, the team was relegated back to the 2nd division at the end of the season.

Stadium

Ayacucho's original stadium was Estadio Ciudad de Cumaná, which had a capacity of 12,000. However, the stadium was demolished in 2024 to construct the new Estadio Vencedores de Ayacucho, which will have a capacity of 20,000 and be completed in late 2025.[6] The new stadium will be part of the new Complejo Deportivo Los Vencedores de Ayaucho and will be the home ground of Ayacucho FC. Until the stadium is complete, Ayacucho plays at Estadio Manuel Eloy Molina Robles located in Huanta.

Current squad

As of 1 September 2025

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  PER Paolo Izaguirre
3 DF  PER Manuel Ganoza
4 DF  PER Alonso Yovera
5 DF  PER Alonso Tamariz
6 MF  PER Jime Tuesta
8 MF  PER Diego Ramírez
9 FW  PER Jiries Salem
10 MF  PER Marvin Ríos (Captain)
12 DF  PER Dylan Caro
14 FW  PER Gustavo Loayza
15 FW  PER Piero Ratto
16 MF  PER Jean Pier Vílchez
18 MF  PAR Derlis Orué
20 MF  PER Carlos Correa
21 GK  PER Fabián Palomino
22 DF  VEN Jonathan Bilbao
23 GK  COL Juan Valencia
No. Pos. Nation Player
24 FW  URU Maximiliano Pérez
25 DF  PER José Ataupillco
26 DF  PER Hans Aquino
27 FW  PER Kenyi Barrios
29 DF  PER Jean Franco Falconí
33 FW  PER Royer Salcedo
35 FW  PER Kevin Ferreyra
55 DF  PER Brackson León
66 MF  PER Adrián de la Cruz
77 FW  COL Juan Lucumí
88 MF  PER Hideyoshi Arakaki
96 MF  PER Pedro Peral
99 FW  ARG Franco Caballero
GK  PER Oscar Cabrera
DF  PER Sthefano Muñoz

Honours

Senior titles

Keys
  •   Record
  • (s) Shared record
Type Competition Titles Runner-up Winning years Runner-up years
National
(League)
Segunda División 1 2008
Half-year / Short
tournament

(League)
Torneo Clausura 1 2020

Under-20 team

Type Competition Titles Runner-up Winning years Runner-up years
National
(League)
Torneo de Promoción y Reservas 1 2022

Results

Performance in CONMEBOL competitions

2012: First Stage
2013: First Stage
2014: First Stage
2022: Group stage
2021: Second Stage

Notable players

Managers

Other sports

Women's football

Type Competition Titles Runner-up Winning years Runner-up years
Regional
(League)
Región VI 1 2018

References

  1. ^ a b Gerardo Espinoza (5 December 2008). "Marca Fútbol: ¿Empresas de Primera?" [Marca Fútbol: Top-Tier Companies?]. dechalaca.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 January 2026.
  2. ^ Roberto Castro (18 December 2008). "Inti Gas: Reventando rápido el balón" [Inti Gas: Bursting the ball quickly]. dechalaca.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  3. ^ "Ayacucho FC venció por penales a Sporting Cristal y conquistó la Fase 2 de la Liga 1" [Ayacucho FC defeated Sporting Cristal on penalties and won Phase 2 of Liga 1]. El Comercio (Peru) (in Spanish). 5 December 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  4. ^ Manuel Menéndez (13 November 2022). "AAyacucho FC a la Liga 2: cómo llegó a primera y por qué cambió de nombre el cuadro de los 'zorros'" [Ayacucho FC to Liga 2: how they got to the top flight and why the 'foxes' team changed their name]. libero.pe (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  5. ^ Luis Pineda (26 November 2024). "FPF acepta fallo judicial y confirma incorporación de Ayacucho FC a la Liga 1 2025, pero apelará sentencia" [FPF accepts court ruling and confirms Ayacucho FC's incorporation into Liga 1 2025, but will appeal the sentence]. La República (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 January 2026.
  6. ^ "Inician trabajos de demolición del Complejo Venezuela para comenzar el Gran Complejo Deportivo Los Vencedores de Ayacucho" [Demolition work begins on the Venezuela Complex to make way for the Great Sports Complex Los Vencedores de Ayacucho]. gob.pe (in Spanish). 8 January 2025. Retrieved 9 April 2025.