| Season: | 1996 |
| Winners: | Sporting Cristal 13th Primera División title |
| League Topscorer: | Waldir Sáenz (19) |
| Nextseason: | 1997 |
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 only accomplished before by Alianza Lima.
| Team | City | Stadium | Capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Campeones del 36 | 8,000 | |||
| Alejandro Villanueva | 35,000 | |||
| Campeonísimo | 8,000 | |||
| 24,500 | ||||
| 45,750 | ||||
| 42,056 | ||||
| 45,750 | ||||
| 25,000 | ||||
| 45,750 | ||||
| 15,000 | ||||
| 20,000 | ||||
| 45,750 | ||||
| 18,000 | ||||
| 15,000 | ||||
| Daniel Alcides Carrión | 8,000 | |||
| 45,750 |
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.
Universitario, Deportivo Pesquero, and Cienciano qualified for the Liguilla.[1]
All matches were played in Lima.
Teams play each other once, either home or away. Liguilla Final was played only at the Estadio Nacional, Lima.