2020–21 Swiss Challenge League

The 2020–21 Swiss Challenge League (referred to as the Brack.ch Challenge League for sponsoring reasons) is the 18th season of the Swiss Challenge League, the second tier of competitive football in Switzerland, under its current name. The season started on 18 September 2020 and is scheduled to end on 30 May 2021.[2] The start of the season was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland. The league will be on winter break between 22 December 2020 and 23 January 2021.

Swiss Challenge League
Season2020–21
Matches played93
Goals scored263 (2.83 per match)
Top goalscorerYanis Lahiouel (9 goals)
Rodrigo Pollero (9 goals)
Biggest home winWinterthur 4–0 Xamax
Biggest away winXamax 0–3 Schaffhausen
Xamax 0–3 Thun
Highest scoringKriens 5–2 Grasshoppers
Schaffhausen 5–2 Chiasso
Winterthur 5–2 Aarau
Highest attendance2'870 Xamax 1–0 Grasshoppers
2021–22 →
All statistics correct as of 6 February 2021[1].

Participating teams

A total of 10 teams participate in the league. 2019–20 Swiss Challenge League champions FC Lausanne-Sport and runner-up FC Vaduz were promoted to the 2020–21 Swiss Super League. They were replaced by Neuchâtel Xamax FCS, who got relegated after finishing last-placed in the 2019–20 Swiss Super League, and FC Thun, who lost the relegation game. No team was relegated due to the cancellation of the 2019–20 Swiss Promotion League caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland.

Stadia and locations
Locations of clubs in the 2020–21 Challenge League
Team Location Stadium Capacity
FC AarauAarauStadion Brügglifeld8,000
FC ChiassoChiassoStadio Comunale Riva IV5,000
Grasshopper Club ZürichZürichLetzigrund26,104
SC KriensKriensStadion Kleinfeld5,360
FC Stade Lausanne-OuchyLausanneStade Olympique de la Pontaise[lower-alpha 1]15,850
Neuchâtel Xamax FCSNeuchâtelStade de la Maladière11,997
FC SchaffhausenSchaffhausenLIPO Park Schaffhausen8,200
FC ThunThunStockhorn Arena10,014
FC Wil 1900WilIGP Arena6,958
FC WinterthurWinterthurSchützenwiese8,550
  1. Stade-Lausanne-Ouchy's home stadium Stade Juan-Antonio-Samaranch in Lausanne can not accommodate SLO for the Challenge League. SLO will play at the Stade Olympique de la Pontaise in Lausanne.[3]

Personnel and kits
Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
Aarau Stephan Keller Elsad Zverotić gpard Swiss Red Cross, Credit Suisse
Chiasso Baldassare Raineri Younes Bnou Marzouk Macron Caffè Chicco d'Oro, Autoronchetti
Grasshoppers João Carlos Pereira Aleksandar Cvetković Puma none (No to Racism)
Kriens Bruno Berner Elia Alessandrini Joma MVM AG
Lausanne-Ouchy Meho Kodro Andy Laugeois 14Fourteen none
Neuchâtel Martin Rueda Laurent Walthert Erima Groupe E, Briq
Schaffhausen Murat Yakin Imran Bunjaku Puma Pistoleros, doc-oliday
Thun Carlos Bernegger Macron Schneider Software AG
Wil Alexander Frei Philipp Muntwiler Erima Planet Pure
Winterthur Ralf Loose Davide Callà gpard Keller, Init7

Managerial changes
TeamOutgoing managerManner of departureDate of departurePosition in tableIncoming managerDate of appointment
Thun Marc SchneiderResigned5 October 20209th Carlos Bernegger11 October 2020[4]
Xamax Stéphane HenchozSacked13 December 20209th Martin Rueda13 December 2020[5]

League table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Thun 19 11 4 4 34 19 +15 37 Promotion to 2021–22 Swiss Super League
2 Schaffhausen 19 9 6 4 33 23 +10 33 Qualification to promotion/relegation play-offs
3 Grasshoppers 17 10 3 4 29 19 +10 33
4 Lausanne-Ouchy 19 8 7 4 30 22 +8 31
5 Winterthur 18 8 4 6 30 23 +7 28
6 Aarau 18 8 4 6 33 29 +4 28
7 Wil 19 6 5 8 20 25 −5 23
8 Kriens 19 4 5 10 21 30 −9 17
9 Xamax 19 5 0 14 17 36 −19 15
10 Chiasso 19 3 4 12 16 37 −21 13 Relegation to Swiss Promotion League
Updated to match(es) played on 6 February 2021. Source: Swiss Challenge League
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head goal difference; 5) Away goals scored; 6) Draw.[6]

Results

Statistics

Top scorers
As of 5 February 2021
Rank Player Club Goals[7]
1 Rodrigo Pollero Schaffhausen 9
Yanis Lahiouel Lausanne-Ouchy
3 Ivan Prtajin Schaffhausen 8
Roman Buess Winterthur
5 Asumah Abubakar Kriens 7
6 Shkëlzen Gashi Aarau 6
Nuno da Silva Thun
8 Davide Callà Winterthur 5
Shkelqim Demhasaj Grasshoppers
Filip Stojilković Aarau
Enes Yesilcayir Kriens
Mirza Mujčić Schaffhausen

Awards

References
  1. "SAISON-STATISTIK 2020/21". www.sfl.ch (in German). Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  2. "Rahmenterminplan 2020-21" (PDF). www.sfl.ch (in German and French). Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  3. Verdon, Emilien (11 February 2020). "Football: SLO jouera la saison prochaine à la Pontaise" (in French). LFM. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  4. "FC Thun: Carlos Bernegger wird neuer Trainer". www.nau.ch.
  5. "Xamax: Martin Rueda remplace Stéphane Henchoz pour la fin de l'année". www.arcinfo.ch.
  6. "Reglement für den Spielbetrieb der SFL" (PDF) (in German). sfl.ch. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 September 2018. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  7. "TORSCHÜTZENLISTE 2020/21". SFL. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  8. "Nsame und Abubakar sind die Besten des Jahres 2020". sfl.ch. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.