LDU Quito

Liga Deportiva Universitaria, also known as Liga de Quito, simply Liga, or by its initials LDU, is an Ecuadorian sports club originally from the city of Quito. It was founded on 11 January 1930, although its activities began on 23 October 1918 as a student sports team of the Universidad Central del Ecuador (UCE), called Club Universitario. Its main discipline is football; its men's squad plays in the Serie A of Ecuador, while the women's squad competes in the Súperliga Femenina of Ecuador. In addition, the club has taken part in other disciplines, such as basketball, athletics, swimming, volleyball, cycling, taekwondo, table tennis, chess and esports.

Owing to its long track record in Ecuadorian football, it is the most popular club in Quito and one of the most popular in Ecuador, its fan base being one of the largest in the country, mainly in the Andean region of Ecuador. Founded by young students of the Faculty of Medicine of the Universidad Central del Ecuador, its members and supporters receive the nicknames «Universitarios» and «Centrales»; likewise, the team is called «La U», because it bears that letter on its crest. In addition, they receive the nicknames «Albos» and «Merengues» thanks to their traditional white kit, a result of their university origins.

In terms of sporting achievements, it is one of the most decorated and recognised institutions in Ecuadorian football, which is why it is also known in its country as the «Rey de Copas» ("King of Cups"). Its greatest international achievements have been winning the 2008 Copa Libertadores, the Copa Sudamericana twice, in the 2009 and 2023 editions, and two Recopas Sudamericanas, in 2009 and 2010; it was also runner-up in the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup, the 2010 Suruga Bank Cup and the 2011 Copa Sudamericana. Domestically, it has been champion of the Ecuadorian Serie A 12 times, of the Supercopa de Ecuador twice and of the Copa Ecuador once, in addition to several youth division titles. Its greatest sporting rivalry is with Aucas, against whom it plays the Superclásico de Quito, considered the match with the longest tradition in the capital city. It also has a great rivalry with Universidad Católica, as they are the two Quito teams that emerged from universities, and together they play the Clásico Universitario; with Deportivo Quito, against whom it plays a traditional capital-city match; with El Nacional, as they are the two most decorated and popular teams in the capital city, and together they play the Clásico Quiteño; and with Barcelona Sporting Club, the club with the largest fan base in the country.

It is also the only team in Ecuador to have achieved the so-called doublette on three occasions: in 2009, as champion of the 2009 Recopa Sudamericana and the 2009 Copa Sudamericana; in 2010, as champion of the 2010 Recopa Sudamericana and the 2010 Ecuadorian football championship; and in 2023, winning the 2023 Copa Sudamericana and the 2023 Serie A of Ecuador.

It is one of the few Ecuadorian clubs with its own stadium; since 1997 it has played its home matches at the Estadio Rodrigo Paz Delgado. The stadium, also known as «La Casa Blanca» ("The White House"), has a capacity of 41,575 people, being the largest-capacity stadium in Quito and the second largest in the country; for this reason, since 2020 this venue has also been the home ground of the Ecuador national football team. Its sports headquarters, the Country Club de LDU, is located in Pomasqui, a rural parish of Quito.