The Super League (also known as the Credit Suisse Super League for sponsorship reasons) is a professional

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

league in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

and the highest level of the Swiss football league system. It has been played in its current format since the 2003–04 season. As of March 2024, the Swiss Super League is ranked 21st in Europe according to

UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...

's ranking of league coefficients, which is based upon Swiss team performances in European competitions. The 2024–25 season was the 128th season of the Swiss top-flight, making it the longest continuously running top-flight national league.

Overview

The Super League is played over 33 rounds from the end of July to May, with a winter break from mid-December to the first week of February. Each team plays each other three times, twice at home and once away, in a round-robin. After 33 rounds, the league split into Championship and Relegation round with 5 rounds, respectively. As teams from both Switzerland and Liechtenstein participate in the Swiss football leagues, only a Swiss club finishing in first place will be crowned champion—should a team from Liechtenstein win, this honor will go to the highest-placed Swiss team. Relative to their league coefficient ranking the highest-placed teams will compete in

UEFA competitions UEFA competitions (), referred improperly by the mass media as European football, are the set of tournaments organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), generally in professional and amateur association football and futsal. Th ...

—again with exception of teams from Liechtenstein, who qualify through the Liechtenstein Cup. The bottom team will be relegated to the Challenge League and replaced by the respective champion for the next season. The club finishing in 9th place will compete against the second-placed team of the Challenge League in a relegation play-off over two games, home and away, for a spot in the succeeding tournament. Matches in the Super League employ the use of a

video assistant referee The video assistant referee (VAR) is a Assistant referee (association football), match official in association football who assists the referee by reviewing decisions using video footage and providing advice to the referee based on those revi ...

History

Serie A era

The

Swiss Football Association The Swiss Football Association (, , , ) is the governing body of football in Switzerland. It organizes the football league, the Swiss Football League and the Switzerland national football team. It is based in Bern. It was formed in 1895, was a ...

was founded in 1895, but were initially unable to organize an annual competition, citing the teams' travel costs. The first unofficial championship, competed for the '' Ruinart Cup'', was organized by Genevan newspaper ''La Suisse sportive'' as a response in 1897. It was mainly contested by teams from the French-speaking area, with the exception of FC Zürich and

Grasshopper Club Zürich Grasshopper Club Zurich (GCZ), commonly referred to as Grasshopper Club or simply just GC, is a professional sports club, multisports club based in Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland. They are nicknamed the ''Grasshoppers'' or sometimes just ''Hopper ...

, the latter of which eventually won the tournament. The inaugural official championship was therefore organized for the following season, in 1898–99, and won by Anglo-American Club against Old Boys Basel. It was, however, only competed by Swiss-German teams (with the exception of a team from

Neuchâtel Neuchâtel (, ; ; ) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the capital (political), capital of the cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Neuchâtel (canton), Neuchâtel on Lake Neuchâtel ...

) until 1900, due to a dispute about playing on Sundays. Teams from the

canton of Zürich The canton of Zurich is an administrative unit (Swiss canton, canton) of Switzerland, situated in the northeastern part of the country. With a population of (as of ), it is the most populous canton of Switzerland. Zurich is the ''de facto'' Capi ...

continued to dominate the league until 1907–08, with Grasshoppers winning a further three, FC Winterthur winning two, and FC Zürich winning one title. Other champions from that time included Servette, St. Gallen, and Young Boys, who subsequently also won three in a row from 1908–1911. Over the next decade,

FC Aarau FC Aarau is a Swiss professional football club based in Aarau. Founded in 1902, the club competes in the Swiss Challenge League, the second tier of Swiss football after being relegated from the Swiss Super League. History FC Aarau was form ...

, Montriond LS (now Lausanne-Sport),

SC Brühl Sportclub Brühl St. Gallen, commonly known as SC Brühl is a football club based in St. Gallen, Switzerland. The team competes in the Promotion League, the third tier of Swiss football. History SC Brühl was founded in 1901. In 1915, the c ...

, and Cantonal Neuchâtel FC each won their first title as nobody managed to monopolize the league. During the 1920s and 1930s, championships were achieved almost exclusively by modern Super League regulars, namely Grasshoppers, Servette, Zürich, Young Boys, Lausanne-Sport, and FC Lugano. FC Bern was the exception in 1923; however, their championship was denied after the use of an unauthorized player.

Nationalliga era

The league was reformed into the Nationalliga in 1931 and initially changed from three regional groups to two groups with 9 teams each. The league composition thereafter varied on several occasions, ranging from 12 to 16 teams competing in a single group. Contrary to its neighboring countries, national football was not suspended during World War II due to Switzerland's neutrality, but the post-war years nevertheless brought change. The 1944–45 season saw the separation of the league into the Nationalliga A and B, with the winner of the former declared Swiss champion. The 1946–47, 1947–48, 1952–53, and 1953–54 seasons saw further maiden victories achieved by

FC Biel-Bienne FC Biel-Bienne is a Swiss association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball ...

AC Bellinzona AC Bellinzona is a Swiss football club based in Bellinzona. It was founded in 1904, and won the Swiss Super League in 1948. After being folded in 2013 declaring bankruptcy, the team played the Ticino Group of 2.Liga, the sixth tier of the Sw ...

FC Basel Fussball Club Basel 1893, widely known as FC Basel, FCB, or just Basel, is a Swiss professional Association football, football club based in Basel, in the Basel-Stadt, Canton of Basel-Stadt. Formed in 1893, the club has been List of Swiss footba ...

, and FC La-Chaux-de-Fonds, respectively. In 1954, broadcasting rights were sold to SRG SSR for the first time, with the company initially being restricted in showing games on TV. For the 1956–57 season, jersey numbers were declared mandatory, with Young Boys initiating an unprecedented streak of four titles the same season. The 1966–67 season first saw the emergence of Basel as a dominant team, as they won 7 of the following 14 seasons. As shirt sponsors first appeared by 1976, the SRG SSR refused to broadcast teams that wore advertisements on their kits. As a result, the broadcaster and the league reached a compromise, where the former would only show sponsors in reports lasting a maximum of 6 minutes, and teams would be obligated to wear neutral jerseys for longer appearances. The 1980s and 1990s saw Grasshoppers dominate and Neuchâtel Xamax,

FC Luzern Fussball-Club Luzern (), or simply abbreviated to FCL, is a Swiss sports club based in Lucerne (). It is best known for its professional association football, football team, which plays in the Swiss Super League, Super League, the top tier of the ...

, and

FC Sion Football Club Sion, commonly known as simply FC Sion or Sion, is a Swiss Association football, football club from the city of Sion, Switzerland, Sion. The club was founded in 1909 and play their home matches at the Stade Tourbillon. They have wo ...

win their first titles in 1986–87, 1988–89, and 1991–92. In 1985, the number of foreigners on a team was increased from one to two, promptly leading to a new transfer record of 1.3 million francs with Servette acquiring Mats Magnusson. In 1992–93 Aarau won the championship the first time in 79 years, while St. Gallen earned their first title in 97 years at the turn of the millennium.

Super League era

The rebranding of the Nationalliga A into the Super League occurred in 2003, when the league was restructured from 12 to 10 teams for the 2003–04 season, simplifying the format by removing the relegation playoff round. A return to 12 teams was discussed on multiple occasions in 2009 and 2018, but ultimately rejected, among others due to reservations about the early relegation battle. This new era initially proved to be one of domination for Basel, as 11 of the first 14 seasons were won by them, including a record-breaking streak of 8 championships between 2009 and 2017. After a change in leadership in 2017, however, they were dethroned by Young Boys, who won the next four straight championships.

Format Change

In April 2022, another proposal by the SFL committee to increase the league size to 12 was announced. The proposal includes three stages: an initial round-robin qualifying stage with all 12 teams (22 rounds); an intermediary stage, with two groups (1st-6th placed in the Championship and 7-12th placed in the Qualification Group) of six teams each (10 rounds); the format of the third and final playoff phase is still to be determined. Despite pushback from fans and a general negative response from club officials, the proposal to increase the league size as well as the proposed format change were approved by the general assembly of the Swiss Football League on 20 May 2022. The details of the final playoff stage was also finalized: * The first and second placed teams of the Championship Group will play a best of three Championship Final. The first placed team has home advantage in the first and third game. * The 3rd-6th placed teams of the Championship Group and the 1st-4th placed teams of the Qualification Group (eight teams total) will play a three round playoff for the remaining spots in international championships. The playoff will be carried out according to the European model, with home and away games except in the final match. Teams are seeded according to their placement. * The 5th placed team of the Qualification Group will play a relegation playoff against the second placed team of the Challenge League. The last placed team is relegated directly. The new format will be implemented for the 2023–24 season, while the transitional 2022–23 season will have only the last placed team playing a relegation playoff against the 3rd place of the Challenge League. A change of format for the

Swiss Challenge League The Challenge League (known as the Dieci Challenge League for sponsorship reasons) 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 wi ...

is not yet clear. In October 2022, following heavy fan protests, reigning champions FC Zürich officially submitted a request to repeal the decision to introduce the play-off modus. Instead they propose to use the system used in the

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, also known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Scotland and the highest level of the Scottish football league system. Th ...

. An according fan petition gathered 18,000 signatures (including

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

star Breel Embolo) in the first day of its publication and Super League heavy-weights BSC Young Boys officially supported the motion immediately. This triggered a renewed vote by the general assembly. On 11 November 2022, the new proposal to instead use the "Scottish Model" was approved by the general assembly of the Swiss Football League. By the time of the vote, the petition opposing the play-off system had gathered over 60,000 signatures. The increased number of teams was not up for a re-vote, though. The new format is as follows: * In a first phase all twelve teams play each other three times each, for a total of 33 matchdays. * Following that, the league is split into two groups of six each, one "Championship Group" and one "Relegation Group". ** Each team will play every other team in their group one time (five matches each), for a total of 38 matchdays. ** The Championship Group will play for the title of Swiss Football Champion and qualification to European championships. ** The Relegation Group will play against relegation (last place) and qualification to the relegation play-off (second-to-last place). * Points won in the first phase are carried over to the second phase. At the beginning of each season, the

'predicts' the likely positions of each club in order to produce a fixture schedule that ensures the best possible chance of all clubs playing each other twice at home and twice away. This is known as the league 'seeding' and is based on clubs' performance in the previous season. If the clubs do not finish in the half where they are predicted to finish, then anomalies can be created in the fixture list. Clubs sometimes play another three times at home and once away (or vice versa), or a club can end up playing 20 home (or away) games in a season These "Scottish Model" format changes were implemented for the 2023-24 Swiss Super League season, alongside the expansion to 12 teams. Due to the expansion, the 2022-23 season had no automatic relegation spots and two promotion spots in the

. There was, however, a promotion/relegation playoff between 3rd in the Challenge League and 12th in the Super League.

Clubs

Current season

Promotion/relegation from 2024–25 season

* FC Thun were promoted directly back as the Challenge League champions, after five seasons in the second tier. * Yverdon Sport were relegated as the last placed team of Super League, after their two seasons spent in the top flight. *

remain in the Super League, as the winner of the relegation play-off against

Team records

Champions (Super League Era)

Performance by club

{, class="wikitable" style="width:600px;" , - !Titles!!Club !Last Championship won , - , , , , 2003 , - , , , , 2025 , - , , , , 1999 , - , , , , 2024 , - , , , , 2022 , - , , , , 1965 , - , , , , 1964 , - , , , , 1949 , - , , , , 1917 , - , , , , 1993 , - , , , , 1988 , - , , , , 2000 , - , , , , 1997 , - , , , , 1899 , - , , , , 1947 , - , , , , 1989 , - , , , , 1915 , - , , , , 1919 , - , , , , 1948

Performance by club (professional era only)

{, class="wikitable" style="width:300px;" , - !Club !Titles , - , , , - , , , - , , , - , , rowspan="2" , , - , , - , , , - , , rowspan="2" , , - , , - , , rowspan="2" , , - , , - , , rowspan="5" , , - , , - , , - , , - ,

Player records

All records are since the introduction of the Super League in 2003. Players in ''italics'' are still active. As of 15 December 2020. * Most championships: Marco Streller (8 times): 2004, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015; with

* Most appearances: Nelson Ferreira (421 appearances); with FC Thun and

* Most goals overall: all time record: Peter Risi (216 goals), Super League record: Marco Streller (119 goals) * Most times top scorer: ''

Seydou Doumbia Seydou Doumbia (; born 31 December 1987) is an Ivorian former professional footballer who played as a forward. After beginning his career in the Ivory Coast and Japan, he arrived in Europe in 2008 to play for Swiss club Young Boys, where he wa ...

'' (3 times): 2009 (20 goals), 2010 (30); with BSC Young Boys; 2017 (20); with

* Most goals in a season: '' Jean-Pierre Nsame'' (32 goals): 2020; with BSC Young Boys * Most minutes without conceding: '' Roman Bürki'' (660 minutes): 2012; with Grasshopper Club * Fastest perfect hattrick:

Mohamed Kader Mohamed Abdel-Kader Coubadja-Touré (born 8 April 1979) is a Togolese former professional footballer who played as a forward. Club career After starting with Étoile Filante de Lomé, he left Togo for CA Bizertin (Tunisia) before landing a ...

(6 minutes): 31 August 2003; with Servette FC against BSC Young Boys (4–1) * Oldest player: Andris Vaņins (40 years 3 months 4 days): 3 August 2020; with FC Zürich * Youngest player: Sascha Studer (15 years 6 months 18 days): 1 April 2007; with

* Oldest goalscorer: Walter Samuel (38 years 21 days): 13 April 2016; with

against FC Lugano (4–1) * Youngest goalscorer: Endogan Adili (15 years 9 months 10 days): 13 May 2010; with Grasshopper Club

References

Sports leagues established in 1897 1897 establishments in Switzerland

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

Professional sports leagues in Switzerland