External links
| National teams |
| ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| League system |
| ||||
| Domestic cups |
| ||||
| Others | |||||
The Swiss Football League is the organization that controls and directs the professional football in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. [1] Founded in 1933 as the National League (in German Nationalliga, in French Ligue Nationale), it assumed its current name in 2003.
It deals with the Swiss Super League and Challenge League championships and is therefore made up of 22 clubs. [2]
The National League was founded between 15 and 16 June 1933 in Vevey, where representatives of several clubs had gathered to end years of discussions on the reform of national football. At that time there were two organizations within the federation, the Zusammenschluss der unteren Serien (ZUS), founded in 1921 by the Serie B and Serie C and the Association Suisse de Série A (ASSA), founded in 1925, to which the teams of the maximum series belonged. In the 1931-1932 the National League championship was created, although only two years later the control body of the same name was born. The reform that gave birth to the single group championship was implemented for the 1933-1934 season. On August 28, 1933, the first matches were played under the aegis of the new league.
With the reform called "Wiederkehr project", approved during the extraordinary federal assembly held in Lugano on 9 October 1943, starting from the 1944-1945 season the National League championship was split into two distinct categories, called Lega National A and National League B. [3] , each of which is made up of 14 teams [4]
On 5 July 1960, a circular from the Transfer- und Aufsichtskommission der National-Liga (TRAKO), the Supervisory Commission for transfers of the National League, announced the possibility of transferring a player from one club to another, in exchange of a sum of money, without a request for authorization to TRAKO itself. As a consequence of this, the status of Swiss footballers, who until then had remained officially "amateur", became "semi-professional". [5] This practice was, moreover, already followed by the main clubs. [5]
When the league took on its current name in 2003, the championships were also subsequently renamed as Super League and Challenge League.
The members of the League are 22, twelve from the Super League and ten from the Challenge League.
| National teams |
| ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| League system |
| ||||
| Domestic cups |
| ||||
| Others | |||||
Fussball Club Vaduz is a professional football club from Vaduz, Liechtenstein that plays in the Swiss Challenge League. The club plays at the national Rheinpark Stadion, which has a capacity of 5,873 when all are seated but has additional standing places in the North and South ends of the ground, giving a total stadium capacity of 7,838.
Alexander Frei or Alex Frei is a Swiss professional football coach and a former player who played as a forward. He was most recently head coach of FC Aarau in the Swiss Challenge League, the second tier of Swiss football.
Peter Karl Jehle is a Liechtensteiner retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
Mario Frick is a Liechtensteiner retired professional footballer who is currently a manager for FC Luzern. He has earned 125 caps and scored a national record 16 goals for his country from his international debut in 1993 until his retirement in 2015. Mainly a striker, Frick was also deployed as a centre-back on occasion.
The Swiss Super League is a Swiss professional league in the top tier of the Swiss football league system and has been played in its current format since the 2003–04 season. As of March 2024, the Swiss Super League is ranked 12th in Europe according to UEFA's ranking of league coefficients, which is based upon Swiss team performances in European competitions. The 2023–24 season will be the 127th season of the Swiss top-flight, making it the longest continuously running top-flight national league.
Fussball-Club Luzern, or simply abbreviated to FCL, is a Swiss sports club based in Lucerne. It is best known for its professional football team, which plays in the Super League, the top tier of the Swiss football league system, and has won the national title once and the national cup three times.
The Challenge League is the second-highest tier of the Swiss football league system and lower of two professional leagues in the country. Ten teams play in the Challenge League; the winners of the league are promoted to the Super League, while the bottom-placed team is relegated to the Promotion League.
FC Winterthur is a Swiss football club based in Winterthur, Canton of Zürich. They play in the Swiss Super League, the first tier of Swiss football, and appeared regularly in the Nationalliga A during the 20th century. Their home is the Stadion Schützenwiese.
Simone Grippo is a Swiss professional footballer who plays for FC Lausanne-Sport as a central defender. He was a Swiss youth international footballer.
Martin Andermatt is a Swiss football manager and a former player who is an assistant coach with Basel.
Association football is the most popular sport in Switzerland. The Swiss Football Association was formed in 1895 and was a founder member of the sport's international governing body FIFA in 1904. The Swiss cities of Zürich and Nyon are home to FIFA and the European governing body UEFA respectively. The country played host to the 1954 World Cup and 2008 European Championship.
One of the most popular sports in Liechtenstein is football. In Liechtenstein there is no national association football league however there are seven clubs in Liechtenstein which play in the Swiss football league system.
Michele Polverino is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Born in Switzerland, he made 79 appearances for the Liechtenstein national team scoring six goals.
Sandro Wieser is a Liechtensteiner professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Swiss Challenge League club Vaduz and the Liechtenstein national team.
Women's football in Liechtenstein faces challenges because it is not amongst the most popular sports for women. However, in recent years there have been national teams formed in various age groups, and the sport is gaining popularity.
Robin Huser is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a midfielder.
Dominik Robin Schmid is a Swiss professional footballer who plays for FC Basel and the Switzerland national football team. A versatile player, he most often plays on the left wing in either defense or midfield.
FC Stade Lausanne Ouchy, sometimes referred to as SLO, is a Swiss football club based in Ouchy, Lausanne. They currently play in the Swiss Super League from 2023–24 after achieving promotion from Swiss Challenge League in 2022–23.
