Swiss Super League facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Swiss Super League

Founded	1898; 127 years ago (1898) as Swiss Serie A 1933; 92 years ago (1933) as Nationalliga A
Country	Switzerland
Confederation	UEFA
Number of teams	12
Level on pyramid	1
Relegation to	Challenge League
Domestic cup(s)	Swiss Cup
International cup(s)	UEFA Champions League UEFA Europa League UEFA Conference League
Current champions	Basel (21st title) (2024–25)
Most championships	Grasshopper (27 titles)
TV partners	Switzerland blue Sport SRG SSR Outside Switzerland SFL TV

The Super League is Switzerland's top professional football league. It's the highest level of football in the Swiss football league system. The league has been played in its current style since the 2003–04 season. As of March 2024, the Swiss Super League is ranked 21st in Europe. This ranking is based on how well Swiss teams perform in European competitions. The 2025–26 season is the 129th season of Switzerland's top football league. This makes it one of the longest-running national football leagues in the world.

How the Super League Works

The Super League season runs from July to May. Teams play each other three times, for a total of 33 matches. After these matches, the league splits into two groups.

• The top six teams form the "Championship Group." They play five more matches against each other. The team with the most points wins the Swiss Football Champion title. These teams also compete for spots in big European competitions like the UEFA Champions League.
• The bottom six teams form the "Relegation Group." They also play five more matches against each other. The team that finishes last in this group is moved down to the Challenge League for the next season. The team that finishes second-to-last plays a special "relegation play-off" against a team from the Challenge League. The winner gets to play in the Super League next season.

Sometimes, teams from Liechtenstein play in the Swiss football leagues. If a team from Liechtenstein wins the Super League, the highest-placed Swiss team still gets the champion title. Liechtenstein teams qualify for European competitions through their own cup, the Liechtenstein Cup.

Super League matches use a video assistant referee (VAR) system. This helps referees make correct decisions during games.

History of Swiss Football

Swiss football has a long and interesting history. The top league has changed its name several times over the years.

Early Days: Serie A Era

Anglo-American Club, winners of the first championship organized by the Swiss Football Association.

The Swiss Football Association started in 1895. However, it was hard to organize a yearly competition at first. This was because teams had to travel a lot. The first unofficial championship happened in 1897. It was called the Ruinart Cup.

The first official championship was in 1898–99. Anglo-American Club won it. Teams from the canton of Zürich were very strong early on. Grasshoppers, FC Winterthur, and FC Zürich won many titles. Other early champions included Servette, St. Gallen, and Young Boys.

In the 1920s and 1930s, big clubs like Grasshoppers, Servette, Zürich, Young Boys, Lausanne-Sport, and FC Lugano often won.

Nationalliga Era

The league changed its name to Nationalliga in 1931. It started with two groups of nine teams. Over time, the league size changed, from 12 to 16 teams in one group. Switzerland stayed neutral during World War II, so football continued.

In 1944–45, 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 1954, games were shown on TV for the first time. In 1956–57, jersey numbers became a must-have. Young Boys then won four titles in a row.

In the 1960s, Basel became a very strong team. They won 7 titles between 1966 and 1980. In the 1980s and 1990s, Grasshoppers were dominant. Teams like Neuchâtel Xamax, FC Luzern, and FC Sion also won their first titles. In 1985, teams could have more foreign players. This led to bigger player transfers.

Modern Era: Super League

The Nationalliga A became the Super League in 2003. The league was changed from 12 to 10 teams. This made the format simpler.

At first, Basel was the strongest team. They won 11 of the first 14 Super League seasons. This included a record of 8 championships in a row from 2009 to 2017. After 2017, Young Boys took over. They won the next four championships in a row.

Recent Format Changes

In 2022, there was a big discussion about changing the league format again. Fans protested against a proposed playoff system. Many wanted a different system. On November 11, 2022, the "Scottish Model" was approved. This new format started with the 2023–24 season. The league also grew to 12 teams.

Here's how the "Scottish Model" works:

• First, all twelve teams play each other three times. This is 33 matches for each team.
• Then, the league splits into two groups of six teams.
  • The "Championship Group" plays for the title and European spots.
  • The "Relegation Group" plays to avoid being moved down.
• Points from the first phase carry over to the second phase.

This system helps make sure teams play each other fairly.

Super League Clubs

Teams in the 2025–26 Season

Here are the clubs playing in the Super League for the 2025–26 season:

Team Changes for 2025–26 Season

• FC Thun was promoted back to the Super League. They had been in the second tier for five seasons.
• Yverdon Sport was moved down to the Challenge League. They had played two seasons in the top league.
• Grasshopper Club Zürich stayed in the Super League. They won their "relegation play-off" match against FC Aarau.

League Champions and Records

Super League Champions (Since 2003)

Here are the champions and top scorers since the Super League began in 2003:

Season	Recent champions (Super League only)	Runners-up	Third place	Top scorer(s)
				Player (Club)	Nat.	Goals
2003–04	Basel	Young Boys	Servette	Chapuisat, StéphaneStéphane Chapuisat (Young Boys)		23
2004–05	Basel (2)	Thun	Grasshopper	Giménez, ChristianChristian Giménez (Basel)		27
2005–06	Zürich	Basel	Young Boys	Keita, AlhassaneAlhassane Keita (Zürich)		20
2006–07	Zürich (2)		Sion	Petrić, MladenMladen Petrić (Basel)		19
2007–08	Basel (3)	Young Boys	Zürich	Yakin, HakanHakan Yakin (Young Boys)		24
2008–09	Zürich (3)		Basel	Doumbia, SeydouSeydou Doumbia (Young Boys)		20
2009–10	Basel (4)		Grasshopper			30
2010–11	Basel (5)	Zürich	Young Boys	Frei, AlexanderAlexander Frei (Basel)		27
2011–12	Basel (6)	Luzern				23
2012–13	Basel (7)	Grasshopper	St. Gallen	Scarione, EzequielEzequiel Scarione (St. Gallen)		21
2013–14	Basel (8)		Young Boys	Gashi, ShkëlzenShkëlzen Gashi (Grasshopper)		19
2014–15	Basel (9)	Young Boys	Zürich	Gashi, ShkëlzenShkëlzen Gashi (Basel)		22
2015–16	Basel (10)		Luzern	Dabbur, MoanesMoanes Dabbur (Grasshopper)		19
2016–17	Basel (11)		Lugano	Doumbia, SeydouSeydou Doumbia (Basel)		20
2017–18	Young Boys	Basel	Luzern	Ajeti, AlbianAlbian Ajeti (Basel, St. Gallen)		17
2018–19	Young Boys (2)		Lugano	Hoarau, GuillaumeGuillaume Hoarau (Young Boys)		24
2019–20	Young Boys (3)	St. Gallen	Basel	Nsame, Jean-PierreJean-Pierre Nsame (Young Boys)		32
2020–21	Young Boys (4)	Basel	Servette			19
2021–22	Zürich (4)		Young Boys	Pefok, JordanJordan Pefok (Young Boys)		22
2022–23	Young Boys (5)	Servette	Lugano	Nsame, Jean-PierreJean-Pierre Nsame (Young Boys)		21
2023–24	Young Boys (6)	Lugano	Servette	Celar, ŽanŽan Celar (Lugano)		13
2024–25	Basel (12)	Servette	Young Boys	Shaqiri, XherdanXherdan Shaqiri (Basel)		18
2025–26

Most Titles by Club

Here are the clubs with the most Swiss football championships:

Titles	Club	Last Championship won
27	Grasshopper	2003
21	Basel	2025
17	Servette	1999
17	Young Boys	2024
13	Zürich	2022
7	Lausanne-Sport	1965
3	La Chaux-de-Fonds	1964
3	Lugano	1949
3	Winterthur	1917
3	Aarau	1993
3	Neuchâtel Xamax	1988
2	St. Gallen	2000
2	Sion	1997
1	Anglo-American Club Zürich	1899
1	Biel-Bienne	1947
1	Luzern	1989
1	Brühl	1915
1	Étoile-Sporting	1919
1	Bellinzona	1948

Player Records (Since 2003)

These records are from when the Super League started in 2003. Players whose names are italic are still playing.

• Most championships: Marco Streller won 8 titles with FC Basel.
• Most games played: 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.
• Most goals in one season: Jean-Pierre Nsame scored 32 goals in 2020 for BSC Young Boys.
• Longest time without letting in a goal: Roman Bürki kept a clean sheet for 660 minutes in 2012 for Grasshopper Club.
• Fastest "perfect hattrick": Mohamed Kader scored 3 goals in 6 minutes on August 31, 2003, for Servette FC.
• Oldest player: Andris Vaņins played at 40 years, 3 months, and 4 days old for FC Zürich.
• Youngest player: Sascha Studer played at 15 years, 6 months, and 18 days old for FC Aarau.
• Oldest goalscorer: Walter Samuel scored a goal at 38 years and 21 days old for FC Basel.
• Youngest goalscorer: Endogan Adili scored a goal at 15 years, 9 months, and 10 days old for Grasshopper Club.

See also

In Spanish: Superliga de Suiza para niños