Promotion League

Last updated
Promotion League
Founded2012;13 years ago (2012) as 1. Liga Promotion
2014;11 years ago (2014) as Promotion League
Country Switzerland
Confederation UEFA
Number of clubs18
Level on pyramid3
Promotion to Challenge League
Relegation to 1st League Classic
Domestic cup(s) Swiss Cup
Current champions Rapperswil-Jona (2nd Title)
(2024–25)
Most championshipsRapperswil-Jona (2 Titles)
Website matchcenter.el-pl.ch
Current: 2025–26 Promotion League

The Promotion League, named the Hoval Promotion League for sponsorship reasons, is the third tier of the Swiss football league system. Eighteen clubs compete in the league, playing each other twice over course of the season. The champions are promoted to the second tier, the Challenge League, while the bottom two teams are relegated to the 1st League Classic.

Contents

The league forms the semi-professional bridge to amateur football. [1]

Overview

Eighteen teams play each other twice, once home and once away, for a total of 34 games. The season begins in August and ends in May, interrupted through a winter break from late November to early March.

The team finishing in first place—subject to license requirements of professional football—will be promoted to the division above, in turn the last-placed team of the second division will be relegated for the following season. Similarly, the bottom two teams are relegated to the fourth tier and replaced respectively. [2]

It is the highest league in Switzerland that permits participation of reserve teams.

History

The league was introduced as the 1. Liga Promotion beginning with the 2012–13 season as part of a restructuring that saw the Challenge League reduced from 16 to 10 teams. This was done to decrease the competitive gap between it and the Super League by converting it to a purely professional league. The Promotion League would therefore serve as the semi-professional link to amateur football. [3] The 1. Liga was consequently renamed to 1. Liga Classic, before reverting again in 2013 when the former adopted its current name. For its maiden season, six teams were relegated from the Challenge League, while the rest joined from the division below. [4] [5] In March 2020, the ongoing season was canceled after 17 games due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020–21 season suspended until further notice. [6] [7]

The league was expanded to 18 teams for the 2022–23 season and the number of allowed U21 teams is unrestricted. [8]

Clubs

Current season

ClubCantonLocationStadiumCapacity
FC Basel II Flag of Canton of Basel.svg Basel Stadion Rankhof
Youth Campus Basel 		7,000
1,000
FC Bavois Flag of Canton of Vaud.svg Bavois Stade de Peupliers1,000
FC Biel-Bienne Flag of Canton of Bern.svg Biel/Bienne Tissot Arena 5,200
FC Breitenrain Bern Bern Spitalacker1,500
SC Brühl Flag of Canton of Sankt Gallen.svg St. Gallen Paul-Grüninger-Stadion 4,200
FC Bulle Flag of Canton of Fribourg.svg Bulle Stade de Bouleyres 5,000
SC Cham Flag of Canton of Zug.svg Cham Stadion Eizmoos1,800
FC Grand-Saconnex Flag of Canton of Geneva.svg Le Grand-Saconnex Stade du Blanché1,000
FC Kreuzlingen Flag of Canton of Thurgau.svg Kreuzlingen EC Technik Remu Arena 1,200
SC Kriens Flag of Canton of Lucerne.svg Kriens Stadion Kleinfeld5,360
FC Lausanne-Sport II Flag of Canton of Vaud.svg Lausanne Stade du Bois-Gentil3,500
FC Lugano II Flag of Canton of Ticino.svg Lugano Cornaredo Stadium 6,330
FC Luzern II Flag of Canton of Lucerne.svg Lucerne Swissporarena
Allmend Sud		16,800
2,000
FC Paradiso Flag of Canton of Ticino.svg Paradiso Campo Pian Scairolo1,000
FC Schaffhausen Flag of Canton of Schaffhausen.svg Schaffhausen Berformance Arena 8,200
Vevey-Sports Flag of Canton of Vaud.svg Vevey Stade de Copet 5,000
BSC Young Boys II Flag of Canton of Bern.svg Bern Stadion Wankdorf 32,000
FC Zürich II Flag of Canton of Zurich.svg Zurich Sportplatz Heerenschürli1,120

League champions

The following teams have won the league: [9]

SeasonClub
As 1. Liga Promotion
2012–13 FC Schaffhausen
2013–14 FC Le Mont
As Promotion League
2014–15 Neuchâtel Xamax
2015–16 Servette FC
2016–17 FC Rapperswil-Jona
2017–18 SC Kriens
2018–19 Stade Lausanne Ouchy
2019–20 None [a]
2020–21 Yverdon-Sport FC
2021–22 AC Bellinzona [b]
2022–23 FC Luzern II [c]
2023–24 Étoile Carouge FC
2024–25 FC Rapperswil-Jona
2025–26 TBD
  1. ↑ The 2019–20 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  2. ↑ Breitenrain was refused a license and withdrew its appeal alongside the license application. License holder and second-placed AC Bellinzona was promoted instead, but FC Breitenrain Bern was runner-up and AC Bellinzona crowned champions.
  3. ↑ FC Luzern II was originally promotion but reserve team ineligible for promotion. License holder, second and third place Stade Nyonnais and FC Baden was promoted instead.

References

  1. ↑ "Wettspielreglement der Ersten Liga (WR)" (PDF) (in Swiss High German).
  2. ↑ "Schweiz » Promotion League 2015/2016 » 30. Spieltag" [Switzerland: 1. Liga Promotion »2015–16]. weltfussball.de (in German). Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  3. ↑ "Die Dreiviertelfrage". Walliser Bote (in German). 6 May 2011.
  4. ↑ "Promotion League: Neuer Name". Walliser Bote (in German). 28 October 2013.
  5. ↑ "Challenge League wird reduziert". fussball.ch (in German). 12 November 2010.
  6. ↑ "Verbot von Kontaktsportarten - Promotion League und 1. Liga unterbrechen Saison". Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) (in German). 28 October 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  7. ↑ "Erste Liga - Spielbetrieb". el-pl.ch. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  8. ↑ "Der SFV reformiert die Spielklassenstruktur und baut die Nachwuchsförderung weiter aus" (in German). SFV. 2021-11-29. Retrieved 2022-07-25.
  9. ↑ "Schweiz » Promotion League » Siegerliste" [Switzerland: Promotion League » List of champions]. weltfussball.de (in German). Retrieved 11 June 2025.
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