Swiss Challenge League
The Challenge League is the second highest tier of the Swiss football league system. Ten teams play in the Challenge League. The winners of the league are promoted to the Super League, while the bottom team is relegated to the Promotion League.
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| Founded | 1898 as Swiss Serie B[1] 1933 as Nationalliga B[2] |
|---|---|
| Country | Switzerland |
| Other club(s) from | Liechtenstein |
| Confederation | UEFA |
| Number of teams | 10 |
| Level on pyramid | 2 |
| Promotion to | Super League |
| Relegation to | Promotion League |
| Domestic cup(s) | Swiss Cup |
| Current champions | Lausanne (2019–20) |
| Website | Official Site |
| Current: 2020–21 Season | |
The Challenge League is fully professional.
Participating clubs 2020–21
| Team | Foundation | Hometown | Venue | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FC Aarau | 26/05/1902 |  Aarau | Stadion Brügglifeld | 8.000 |
| FC Chiasso | 16/10/1905 | Chiasso | Riva IV | 5.000 |
| Grasshopper Club | 01/09/1886 | Zürich | Letzigrund | 26.104 |
| SC Kriens | 01/07/1944 | Kriens | Kleinfeld | 5.360 |
| FC Stade Lausanne Ouchy | 2001 | Lausanne | Centre Sportif de Vidy | 4.200 |
| Neuchâtel Xamax FCS | 1912 | Neuchâtel | Stade de la Maladière | 12.000 |
| FC Schaffhausen | 01/07/1896 | Schaffhausen | LIPO Park Schaffhausen | 8.085 |
| FC Thun | 04/05/1898 | Thun | Stockhorn Arena | 10.000 |
| FC Wil 1900 | 1900 | Wil | Sportpark Bergholz | 6.010 |
| FC Winterthur | 01/07/1896 | Winterthur | Schützenwiese | 9.450 |
Promotion/Relegation from 2019–20 season
- Neuchâtel Xamax FCS (10th) and FC Thun (9th) were relegated from the Swiss Super League.
- FC Lausanne-Sport (1st) and FC Vaduz (2nd) were promoted to the Swiss Super League.
- Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland no club was relegated to the Promotion League.
History
The league was named Nationalliga B until 2003 when it was restructured and changed to the "Challenge League."
During the Nationalliga B era, the top clubs were "promoted" into a round robin playoff with the lowest teams in the Nationalliga A to determine promotion and relegation. From 2003 to 2012, the second placed team entered a two-legged playoff against the 9th placed team in the Super League, with the winner playing in the higher division next season. In 2012, with the creation of the 1. Liga Promotion (later renamed Promotion League), the league was reduced to 10 teams in a 1-up 1-down promotion/relegation format, scrapping the playoff. The playoff was reintroduced in 2019.
Nationalliga B Era
1 FC Lugano and FC Lausanne-Sport went bankrupt which meant that no team was relegated due to their league position. FC Sion were not awarded a license for the 2003–04 season resulted in an extra team being promoted.
Challenge League Era
The league statistics of the Challenge League area:[3][4]
| 1Sion were admitted to the league on October 29, 2003, after the season had already begun which brought the number of teams in the division to 17. Only one club was relegated and two were promoted to extend the league to 18 clubs for the 2004–05 season. 2Baden were not relegated due to Servette being demoted to 1. Liga because of financial difficulties.
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See also
References
- Swiss Serie B RSSSF
- Swiss Football League - Nationalliga B RSSSF
- "Schweiz » Challenge League » Siegerliste" [Switzerland: Challenge League » List of champions] (in German). Weltfussball.de. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
- "Schweiz » Challenge League 2015/2016 » 36. Spieltag" [Switzerland: Challenge League »2015–16] (in German). Weltfussball.de. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
External links
| National teams |
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| League system |
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| Domestic cups |
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| Others | |||||