Swiss Super League

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

The Swiss Football Association was founded in 1895, but were initially unable to organize an annual competition, citing the teams' travel costs. The first inofficial 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, the latter of which eventually won the tournament.[9] 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) until 1900, due to a dispute about playing on Sundays.[10][11]

Teams from the canton of Zürich continued to dominate the league until 1907–08, with Grasshoppers winning a further three, FC Winterthur winning two, and FC Zürich winning a single 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, Montriond LS (now Lausanne-Sport), SC Brühl, 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.[12][13]

The league was reformed into the Nationalliga in 1931 and initially changed from three regional groups to two groups with 9 teams each.[14][15] 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,[16] 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.[17][18] The 1946–47, 1947–48, 1952–53, and 1953–54 seasons saw further maiden victories achieved by FC Biel-Bienne, AC Bellinzona, FC Basel, 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.[19][20] For the 1956–57 season, jersey numbers were declared mandatory,[21] with Young Boys initiating an unprecedented streak of four titles the same season.[12]

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.[22][23] The 1980s and 1990s saw Grasshoppers dominate and Neuchâtel Xamax, FC Luzern, and FC Sion win their first titles in 1986–87, 1988–89, and 1991–92.[12] In 1985, the number of foreigners on a team was increased from one to two,[24] promptly leading to a new transfer record of 1.3 million francs with Servette acquiring Mats Magnusson.[25] 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 millenium.[12]

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.[26][27]

This new era initially proved to be one of domination for Basel, as 11 of the first 14 seasons seasons were won by them, including a record-breaking streak of 8 championships between 2009 and 2017. After a change in leadership in 2017,[28] however, they were dethroned by Young Boys, who have won each of the three championships since then.[12]

The teams competing in the 2020–21 season are:

Team	Foundation	Hometown	Venue	Capacity
FC Basel	15 November 1893	Basel	St. Jakob-Park	37.994
Servette FC	20 March 1890	Geneva	Stade de Geneve	30.084
FC Lugano	28 July 1908	Lugano	Stadio Cornaredo	6.390
FC Luzern	12 August 1901	Luzern	Swissporarena	16.490
FC Sion	1 July 1909	Sion	Tourbillon	14.283
FC St. Gallen	19 April 1879	St. Gallen	Kybunpark	19.456
FC Vaduz	14 February 1932	Vaduz	Rheinpark Stadion	7.584
FC Lausanne-Sport	1896	Lausanne	Stade de la Tuilière	12.000
BSC Young Boys	14 March 1898	Bern	Stade de Suisse	31.789
FC Zürich	28 August 1896	Zürich	Letzigrund	26.104

• 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.