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Swiss Football League |
Country > Switzerland
Foundation Year > Founded in 1933
EPFL Affilation > 2005 Member
No.ofAffiliated Clubs > Axpo Super League: 10 Clubs
Challenge League: 16 Clubs
Official Website > www.football.ch/sfl
E-mail Address > sfl@football.ch
Phone > +41 31 950 83 00
Fax > +41 31 950 83 83
President > Heinrich Schifferle
Chief Executive Officer > Claudius Schäfer
Senior Manager > Edmond Isoz
Media/Press Office > Roger Müller
President
Heinrich Schifferle
Swiss Football League – History
The Swiss Football League (SFL) (founded in summer 1933 as «National-Liga des Schweizerischen Fussballverbandes SFV»), an independent entity within the Swiss Football Association, is the organizing body for professional football in Switzerland. It consists of two divisions: the Super League and the Challenge League. Since the last reform at the beginning of the season 2003/04 ten teams compete in the Super League, named after a leading Swiss energy supply company (Axpo Super League). The clubs play against each other four times. After 36 rounds one team from the Super League is automatically relegated at the end of each season and replaced by the leading club from the Challenge League. 16 clubs participate in the 2nd division. According to the UEFA rules, the second to last team of the Super League has to play a home and an away playoff match with the second placed team of the Challenge League.
The last two teams of the Challenge League are relegated to one of the three groups in the 3rd division (called 1. Liga). Thus these teams aren’t members of the SFL anymore and therefore no longer considered professional but regional football teams.Average attendance in the Super League has raised sharply in the last few years to over 10’900 spectators per game in the season 2007/08. Especially the gradual reduction of the number of teams in the Super League had a positive impact in the sense that tight finishes for the title or for relegation is almost guaranteed.With the prospect of hosting the UEFA Euro 2008, stadium developers started to rebuild the very outdated infrastructure in Switzerland. In Basle (2001), Geneva (2003), Berne (2005), all three stadiums were almost entirely privately funded, and Zurich (2007), where they received public funding. Super League side Neuchâtel Xamax has inaugurated a new stadium in spring 2007. Another top-flight club, FC St. Gallen, opened his new arena in summer 2008. In a number of other cities the planning has begun for building new or completely revamped old infrastructure.
