Beginnings

Cienciano was founded on 8 July 1901 by a group of students from the National School of Science of Cusco. It participated in several leagues and tournaments of the region. They played their first official match on 27 July 1902 against Atletic Club in Cusco. Cienciano soon won its first trophy, winning the 1903 Liga Departamental del Cusco, and would go on to win it 27 times from 1912 to 1983.

In 1966 Hector Ladrón de Guevara was the inaugural Cienciano player to be named captain of the Peru national team. In 1972, it began to play in the Peruvian First Division; however, the club was relegated four years later.

The Cienciano team was managed by the teachers of the Cienciano Alma Mater School until the mid-sixties, when after the creation of the Copa Perú, football in Peru became more competitive. And in 1973, when Cienciano left the Cusco League and the Copa Peru behind to participate for the first time in the Peruvian First Division, it was understood that the authorities should no longer depend on the College for the attention that a competitive soccer team requires, which is why Waldo Callo, another of Cienciano`s precursors, is stepping away from the presidency to make way for businessmen willing to invest and support the team.

Cienciano remained in the First Division until 1977, where they were relegated to the Peruvian Second Division. In 1988, the FPF invited the club to play in a tournament of the southern region. In 1991, Cienciano won the tournament and in 1992 it once again played in the First Division. Since then, the club has always played in the First Division.