Liga Deportiva Universitaria (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈliɣa ðepoɾˈtiβawniβeɾsiˈtaɾja]) is an Ecuadorian professional football club based in Quito.

They play their home games at the Estadio Rodrigo Paz Delgado, more commonly referred to as Casa Blanca.

Liga Deportiva Universitaria has its roots in the semi-pro sports teams in 1918 competing as "Universitario" at the Central University of Ecuador, and was officially founded on 11 January 1930.

They are one of only six teams —Boca Juniors, Independiente, River Plate, Internacional and São Paulo being the other five— to have achieved the CONMEBOL treble, winning all three continental club tournaments.

Liga de Quito's roots lie in a semi-pro sports team based out of the Central University of Ecuador on 23 October 1918, headed by Dr. César Jácome Moscoso.

[2] In the early days, Liga participated in a variety of disciplines, including football, basketball, athletics, boxing, baseball, swimming, ping-pong, and chess.

Liga won all their games, and in the final match, played at the Estadio El Ejido, defeated Gladiador by a score of 4–0.

In 1957 and from 1960 onwards, winning the Interandino title qualified a team to participate in a tournament which crowned a national champion of Ecuadorian professional football.

The team's three subsequent Interandino victories did not lead to a national title; the club's best performance was a third-place finish in 1964.

Liga won its first national championship in 1969, one year after joining the new league, under the leadership of Brazilian José Gomes Nogueira.

Liga's ranks at the time included Francisco "El Tano" Bertocchi, Jorge Tapia, Armando "Tito" Larrea, Carlos Ríos, Santiago Alé, Enrique Portilla, and Ramiro Tobar.

Key to Liga's success were players Polo Carrera, Oscar Zubía, Jorge Tapia, Gustavo Tapia, Walter Maesso, Juan Carlos Gómez, Ramiro Tobar, Juan José Pérez, and Roberto Sussman, along with Colombian coach Leonel Montoya.

The 1998 title was won the year Liga inaugurated their new stadium, La Casa Blanca, and ended with an impressive 7–0 win over Emelec.

Liga added another five more national titles in 2005 Apertura, 2007, 2010, 2018, 2023 and the most recent in 2024 to bring their current count to thirteen, placing them third all-time domestically (tied with El Nacional).

On 2 July 2008, Liga became the first-ever Ecuadorian team to win the Copa Libertadores, after defeating Fluminense in the finals on penalties 3–1, after being level on aggregate 5–5 at the end of extra time.

Liga won the first leg, played at Beira Rio stadium in Porto Alegre, by a score of 1–0, with a goal from Claudio Bieler.

In the second leg, played at La Casa Blanca, Liga won 3–0 with goals from Carlos Espínola, Claudio Bieler, and Enrique Vera.

In a rematch of the 2008 Copa Libertadores Final, Liga edged Fluminense 5–4 on aggregate over two legs by winning impressively at home 5–1 and losing 3–0 in Rio de Janeiro.

Additionally, they qualified to play in the 2010 Recopa Sudamericana against Argentine club Estudiantes de La Plata.

The victory gave the club the right to play in the 2010 Suruga Bank Championship, which was won by FC Tokyo 4–3 on penalties after a 2–2 draw in August 2010.

Liga also reached the 2011 Copa Sudamericana Finals, which they lost to Universidad de Chile by a global score of 4–0.

Their first stadium was Estadio Universitario César Aníbal Espinoza, on the grounds of the Universidad Central del Ecuador.

Both teams played the finals of 1974 and 1999 by national championship, resulting Liga de Quito champion both times.

This rivalry has largely been put on hold since Deportivo Quito's relegation to the third tier of Ecuador's football league in 2015, where it has been playing ever since.

[5][6] This rivalry reached new heights when the two teams met on a third international final for the 2024 Recopa Sudamericana, which was won by Fluminense.