Swiss Super League facts for kids
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| Founded | 1898 as Swiss Serie A 1933 as Nationalliga A |
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| Country | Switzerland |
| Confederation | UEFA |
| Number of teams | 12 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | Challenge League |
| Domestic cup(s) | Swiss Cup |
| International cup(s) |
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| Current champions | Young Boys (17th title) (2023–24) |
| Most championships | Grasshopper (27 titles) |
| TV partners |
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The Super League is the top professional football league in Switzerland. It is also known as the Credit Suisse Super League because of its main sponsor. This league is the highest level of football in the Swiss football league system.
The Super League has been played in its current style since the 2003–04 season. As of March 2024, it ranks 12th among European leagues. This ranking is based on how well Swiss teams perform in big European competitions. The 2023–24 season is the 127th season of Swiss top-flight football. This makes it one of the longest-running national football leagues in the world.
Contents
How the Super League Works
The Super League season runs from late July to May. There are 36 rounds of games. Teams take a break in winter, from mid-December to early February. Each team plays every other team four times. They play twice at home and twice away. This is called a round-robin format.
Winning the Championship
Only a Swiss club can become the champion. If a team from Liechtenstein wins the league, the title goes to the highest-placed Swiss team. This rule is in place because Liechtenstein teams qualify for European cups through their own national cup.
European Competitions
The top teams in the Super League get to play in big European tournaments. These include the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, and UEFA Conference League. These spots are given based on the league's ranking in Europe.
Relegation and Promotion
The team that finishes last in the Super League is moved down to the Challenge League. The champion of the Challenge League then takes their place. The team that finishes 9th in the Super League plays a special two-game match. They play against the second-placed team from the Challenge League. The winner of this match gets a spot in the Super League for the next season.
Video Assistant Referee
Super League matches use a video assistant referee, also known as VAR. This technology helps referees make correct decisions during games.
History of Swiss Football
Swiss top-flight football has changed its name several times over the years.
| Years | German | French | Italian |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1897 | Coupe Ruinart (unofficial) | ||
| 1898–1929 | Serie A | ||
| 1930–1931 | 1. Liga | 1e Ligue | Prima Lega |
| 1931–1933 | Nationalliga | Ligue Nationale | Lega Nazionale |
| 1933–1934 | Challenge National | ||
| 1934–1944 | Nationalliga | Ligue Nationale | Lega Nazionale |
| 1944–2003 | Nationalliga A | Ligue Nationale A | Lega Nazionale A |
| 2003–present | Super League axpo Super League (2003–2012) Raiffeisen Super League (2012–2021) Credit Suisse Super League (2021–present) |
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Early Years: The Serie A Era
The Swiss Football Association started in 1895. At first, they couldn't organize a yearly competition because of travel costs. So, in 1897, a newspaper in Geneva created the first unofficial championship. It was called the Ruinart Cup. Most teams were from the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Grasshopper Club Zürich won this first tournament.
The first official championship happened in 1898–99. Anglo-American Club won it. For a few years, only German-speaking Swiss teams played. This was due to a disagreement about playing games on Sundays.
Teams from the region of Zürich were very strong early on. Grasshoppers won three more titles. FC Winterthur won two, and FC Zürich won one. Other early champions included Servette, St. Gallen, and Young Boys. Young Boys even won three titles in a row from 1908 to 1911. Later, teams like FC Aarau, Lausanne-Sport, SC Brühl, and Cantonal Neuchâtel FC won their first titles. In the 1920s and 1930s, many of today's well-known clubs like Grasshoppers, Servette, Zürich, Young Boys, Lausanne-Sport, and FC Lugano won championships.
The Nationalliga Era
In 1931, the league was changed and renamed the Nationalliga. It started with two groups of nine teams. Over time, the league size changed, sometimes having 12 to 16 teams in one group. Unlike other countries, Swiss football continued during World War II because Switzerland was neutral.
In the 1944–45 season, the league split into Nationalliga A and B. The winner of Nationalliga A became the Swiss champion. New teams like FC Biel-Bienne, AC Bellinzona, FC Basel, and FC La-Chaux-de-Fonds won their first titles in the 1940s and 1950s. In 1954, games were shown on TV for the first time. In 1956–57, jersey numbers became required for players. That same season, Young Boys started an amazing run, winning four titles in a row.
In the 1966–67 season, Basel became a very strong team. They won 7 of the next 14 championships. In 1976, shirt sponsors appeared. At first, TV broadcasters refused to show teams with ads on their jerseys. They eventually agreed to show sponsors in short reports. For longer broadcasts, teams had to wear jerseys without ads.
The 1980s and 1990s saw Grasshoppers dominate again. Neuchâtel Xamax, FC Luzern, and FC Sion won their first titles. In 1985, teams were allowed to have two foreign players instead of one. This led to a new record for player transfers. In 1992–93, Aarau won the championship after 79 years. St. Gallen won their first title in 97 years around the year 2000.
The Super League Era
In 2003, the Nationalliga A was rebranded as the Super League. The league was changed from 12 to 10 teams for the 2003–04 season. This made the format simpler. There were talks about going back to 12 teams in 2009 and 2018, but it didn't happen.
At the start of this new era, Basel was very dominant. They won 11 of the first 14 seasons. This included a record of 8 championships in a row between 2009 and 2017. After 2017, Young Boys took over. They won the next four championships in a row.
Changes to the League Format
In April 2022, there was a new plan to increase the league to 12 teams. The plan suggested three stages for the season. First, all 12 teams would play each other. Then, they would split into two groups: a Championship Group and a Qualification Group. The final stage would be playoffs. Many fans and club officials were against this idea. However, the plan was approved in May 2022.
The final playoff details were decided:
- The top two teams in the Championship Group would play a "best of three" final to decide the champion.
- Teams from 3rd to 6th in the Championship Group, and 1st to 4th in the Qualification Group, would play playoffs for spots in European competitions.
- The 5th placed team in the Qualification Group would play a relegation playoff against the second-placed team from the Challenge League. The last-placed team would be directly relegated.
This new format was set to start for the 2023–24 season.
However, in October 2022, fans protested strongly against the playoff system. FC Zürich asked for the decision to be changed. They suggested using a system like the one in the Scottish Premiership. A fan petition quickly got 18,000 signatures, and Young Boys supported the idea. This led to a new vote.
On November 11, 2022, the "Scottish Model" was approved. By then, the petition against the playoff system had over 60,000 signatures! The decision to have 12 teams was not changed. The new format is:
- All twelve teams play each other three times. This makes 33 games.
- After these games, the league splits into two groups of six teams each. One is the "Championship Group" and the other is the "Relegation Group".
- Each team plays every other team in their group one more time (five games). This makes a total of 38 games.
- The Championship Group plays for the league title and spots in European competitions.
- The Relegation Group plays to avoid being relegated. The last-placed team goes down, and the second-to-last plays in a relegation playoff.
- Points from the first part of the season carry over to the second part.
Current Season
Here are the clubs playing in the 2023–24 Swiss Super League:
| Club | Location | Stadium | Capacity | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FC Basel | Basel | St. Jakob-Park | 37,994 | |
| BSC Young Boys | Bern | Stadion Wankdorf | 31,120 | |
| Grasshopper Club Zürich | Zürich | Letzigrund | 26,103 | |
| FC Lausanne-Sport | Lausanne | Stade de la Tuilière | 12,544 | |
| FC Stade Lausanne Ouchy | Lausanne | Stade Olympique de la Pontaise | 8,500 | |
| FC Lugano | Lugano | Stadio Cornaredo | 6,390 | |
| FC Luzern | Lucerne | Swissporarena | 16,490 | |
| Servette FC | Geneva | Stade de Genève | 28,833 | |
| FC St. Gallen | St. Gallen | Kybunpark | 19,455 | |
| FC Winterthur | Winterthur | Stadion Schützenwiese | 8,400 | |
| Yverdon-Sport FC | Yverdon-les-Bains | Stade Municipal | 6,600 | |
| FC Zürich | Zürich | Letzigrund | 26,103 |
Teams Joining and Leaving for 2023–24 Season
- No team was directly moved down from the Swiss Super League.
- Yverdon-Sport FC (1st place) and Lausanne (2nd place) were directly promoted to the Swiss Super League.
- Stade Lausanne Ouchy was promoted to the Super League after winning a special play-off game.
- FC Sion was moved down from the Super League after losing that play-off game.
Team Records
Champions in the Super League Era (since 2003)
| Season | Recent champions (Super League only) |
Runners-up | Third place | Top scorer(s) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player (Club) | Nat. | Goals | ||||
| 2003–04 | Basel | Young Boys | Servette | Stéphane Chapuisat (Young Boys) |  |
23 |
| 2004–05 | Basel (2) | Thun | Grasshopper | Christian Giménez (Basel) |  |
27 |
| 2005–06 | Zürich | Basel | Young Boys | Alhassane Keita (Zürich) |  |
20 |
| 2006–07 | Zürich (2) | Basel | Sion | Mladen Petrić (Basel) |  |
19 |
| 2007–08 | Basel (3) | Young Boys | Zürich | Hakan Yakin (Young Boys) | |
24 |
| 2008–09 | Zürich (3) | Young Boys | Basel | Seydou Doumbia (Young Boys) |  |
20 |
| 2009–10 | Basel (4) | Young Boys | Grasshopper | Seydou Doumbia (Young Boys) | |
30 |
| 2010–11 | Basel (5) | Zürich | Young Boys | Alexander Frei (Basel) | |
27 |
| 2011–12 | Basel (6) | Luzern | Young Boys | Alexander Frei (Basel) | |
23 |
| 2012–13 | Basel (7) | Grasshopper | St. Gallen | Ezequiel Scarione (St. Gallen) | |
21 |
| 2013–14 | Basel (8) | Grasshopper | Young Boys | Shkëlzen Gashi (Grasshopper) |  |
19 |
| 2014–15 | Basel (9) | Young Boys | Zürich | Shkëlzen Gashi (Basel) | |
22 |
| 2015–16 | Basel (10) | Young Boys | Luzern | Moanes Dabbur (Grasshopper) |  |
19 |
| 2016–17 | Basel (11) | Young Boys | Lugano | Seydou Doumbia (Basel) | |
20 |
| 2017–18 | Young Boys | Basel | Luzern | Albian Ajeti (Basel, St. Gallen) | |
17 |
| 2018–19 | Young Boys (2) | Basel | Lugano | Guillaume Hoarau (Young Boys) |  |
24 |
| 2019–20 | Young Boys (3) | St. Gallen | Basel | Jean-Pierre Nsame (Young Boys) |  |
32 |
| 2020–21 | Young Boys (4) | Basel | Servette | Jean-Pierre Nsame (Young Boys) | |
19 |
| 2021–22 | Zürich (4) | Basel | Young Boys | Jordan Pefok (Young Boys) |  |
22 |
| 2022–23 | Young Boys (5) | Servette | Lugano | Jean-Pierre Nsame (Young Boys) | |
21 |
| 2023–24 | Young Boys (6) | Lugano | Servette | Žan Celar (Lugano) |  |
13 |
Club Performance (All Time)
This table shows how many championships each club has won throughout history.
| Titles | Club | Last Championship won |
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2003 |
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2017 |
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1999 |
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2024 |
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2022 |
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1965 |
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1964 |
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1949 |
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1917 |
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1993 |
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1988 |
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2000 |
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1997 |
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1899 |
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1947 |
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1989 |
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1915 |
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1919 |
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1948 |
Last updated: 22 May 2022
Source: RSSSF
Club Performance (Professional Era Only)
This table focuses on titles won during the professional era of Swiss football.
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Player Records
These records are from the Super League era, which started in 2003. Players whose names are italic are still playing. Records are as of December 15, 2020.
- Most championships: Marco Streller won 8 titles with FC Basel.
- Most appearances: Nelson Ferreira played 421 games for FC Thun and FC Luzern.
- Most goals overall: The all-time record is Peter Risi with 216 goals. The Super League record is Marco Streller with 119 goals.
- Most times top scorer: Seydou Doumbia was the top scorer 3 times. He scored 20 goals in 2009 and 30 goals in 2010 with BSC Young Boys. He also scored 20 goals in 2017 with FC Basel.
- Most goals in one season: Jean-Pierre Nsame scored 32 goals in 2020 with BSC Young Boys.
- Most minutes without letting in a goal: Roman Bürki played 660 minutes without letting in a goal in 2012 with Grasshopper Club.
- Fastest perfect hattrick: Mohamed Kader scored 3 goals in 6 minutes on August 31, 2003. This was for Servette FC against BSC Young Boys.
- Oldest player: Andris Vaņins played at 40 years, 3 months, and 4 days old on August 3, 2020, for FC Zürich.
- Youngest player: Sascha Studer played at 15 years, 6 months, and 18 days old on April 1, 2007, for FC Aarau.
- Oldest goalscorer: Walter Samuel scored a goal at 38 years and 21 days old on April 13, 2016, for FC Basel against FC Lugano.
- Youngest goalscorer: Endoğan Adili scored a goal at 15 years, 9 months, and 10 days old on May 13, 2010, for Grasshopper Club against FC Aarau.
See also
In Spanish: Superliga de Suiza para niños
- Sports league attendances
