2025–26 Swiss Challenge League

Swiss Challenge League
Season	2025–26
Dates	25 July 2025 – May 2026
Champions	Vaduz; (4th title)
Promoted	Vaduz
Relegated	Bellinzona
Conference League	Vaduz
Matches	140
Goals	396 (2.83 per match)
Top goalscorer	Shkelqim Demhasaj (Xamax, 16 goals)
Biggest home win	6–0; Vaduz–Bellinzona (22 Aug '25)
Biggest away win	1–5; Bellinzona–Xamax (2 Aug '25); 0–4; Rapperswil-Jona–Vaduz (12 Dec '25); 0–4; Bellinzona–Yverdon (27 Feb '26)
Highest scoring	4–5; Nyon–Aarau (22 Aug '25)
Longest winning run	Vaduz (11); (rounds 9 to 19)
Longest unbeaten run	Vaduz (12); (rounds 8 to 19)
Longest winless run	Bellinzona (12); (rounds 1 to 12); Nyon (12); (rounds 15 to 26)
Longest losing run	Bellinzona (4); (rounds 9 to 12); Wil (4); (rounds 4 to 7)
Highest attendance	7.186; Aarau–Vaduz (13 Mar '26)
Lowest attendance	285; Bellinzona–Vaduz (21 Nov '25)
	← 2024–25 2026–27 → All statistics correct as of 6 April 2026.

The 2025–26 Swiss Challenge League (referred to as the Dieci Challenge League for sponsoring reasons) is the 128th season of the second tier of competitive football in Switzerland and the 23rd season under its current name.

Teams

On 24 May 2025, Rapperswil-Jona returned to the Challenge League after a 6-year absence.^[1] On 22 May 2025, Yverdon-Sport, relegated from the Super League, returned to the second series after a two-year absence.^[2] They replace last season's Challenge League champions Thun, who returned to the top flight after a 5-year absence, and Schaffhausen, who were relegated to the Swiss Promotion League after 12 seasons in the Challenge League.^[3]^[4]

Team changes

Promoted from 2024–25 Swiss Promotion League	Relegated from 2024–25 Swiss Super League	Promoted to 2025–26 Swiss Super League	Relegated to 2025-26 Swiss Promotion League
Rapperswil-Jona	Yverdon-Sport	Thun	Schaffhausen

Stadia and locations

Map of Switzerland with the locations of the Challenge League clubs

Locations of clubs in the 2025-26 Swiss Challenge League teams

Team	Location	Stadium	Capacity	Ref
FC Aarau	Aarau	Stadion Brügglifeld	8,000	^[5]
AC Bellinzona	Bellinzona	Stadio Comunale	5,000	^[6]
Étoile Carouge FC	Carouge	Stade de la Fontenette	3,600	^[7]
FC Stade Lausanne-Ouchy	Lausanne	Stade Olympique^[a]	15,850	^[9]
FC Rapperswil-Jona	Rapperswil-Jona	Stadion Grünfeld	3,200
FC Stade Nyonnais	Nyon	Stade de Colovray	7,200	^[10]
FC Vaduz	Vaduz	Rheinpark Stadion	7,584	^[11]
FC Wil 1900	Wil	Lidl Arena	6,958	^[12]
Neuchâtel Xamax	Neuchâtel	Stade de la Maladière	11,997	^[13]
Yverdon-Sport	Yverdon	Stade Municipal	4,200

↑ 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.^[8]

No. of teams	Cantons	Team(s)
3
3	Vaud	Lausanne Ouchy, Nyon, Yverdon-Sport
2
2	St. Gallen	Rapperswil-Jona, Wil
1
	Aargau	Aarau
	Liechtenstein	Vaduz
	Geneva	Étoile Carouge
	Neuchâtel	Xamax
	Ticino	Bellinzona

Personnel and kits

Team	Manager	Captain	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
Aarau	Brunello Iacopetta	Marco Thaler	Craft	Aargauische Kantonalbank
Bellinzona	Giuseppe Sannino	Dragan Mihajlović	Acerbis	Dieci
Étoile Carouge	Pedro Nogueira	Signori António	Adidas	Scrasa
Lausanne Ouchy	Dalibor Stevanović	Edmond Akichi	Adidas	Cronos Finance
Nyon	Andrea Binotto	Melvin Mastil	Adidas	Dieci
Rapperswil-Jona	Selcuk Sasivari	Rijad Saliji	Macron	Dieci
Vaduz	Marc Schneider	Nicolas Hasler	Puma	MBPI
Wil	Marco Hämmerli	Kastrijot Ndau	Adidas	WeberPartner
Xamax	Anthony Braizat	Eris Abedini	Capelli	Groupe E
Yverdon-Sport	Martin Andermatt	Anthony Sauthier	Macron	None

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Date of departure	Position in table	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
Bellinzona	Giuseppe Sannino	30 June 2025	Pre-season	Xavi Andrés Ibarra	1 July 2025
Étoile Carouge	Adrian Ursea			Pedro Nogueira
Yverdon-Sport	Paolo Tramezzani			Adrian Ursea
Bellinzona	Xavi Andrés Ibarra	23 July 2025		Manuel Benavente	24 July 2025
Bellinzona	Manuel Benavente	24 October 2025	10th	Giuseppe Sannino	24 October 2025
Rapperswil-Jona	David Sesa	2 November 2025	8th	Selcuk Sasivari	3 November 2025
Yverdon-Sport	Adrian Ursea	9 March 2026	3rd	Martin Andermatt	9 March 2026

Table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion, qualification or relegation
1	Vaduz (C, P)	36	25	6	5	75	41	+34	81	Promotion to Swiss Super League and qualification for the Conference League second qualifying round^[a]
2	Aarau	36	25	5	6	77	47	+30	80	Qualification for promotion play-off
3	Yverdon-Sport	36	20	7	9	75	48	+27	67
4	Lausanne Ouchy	36	14	8	14	59	51	+8	50
5	Xamax	36	14	7	15	55	56	−1	49
6	Rapperswil-Jona	36	14	2	20	52	62	−10	44
7	Wil	36	10	10	16	39	55	−16	40
8	Étoile Carouge	36	10	10	16	46	54	−8	40
9	Nyon	36	5	13	18	33	60	−27	28
10	Bellinzona (R)	36	5	8	23	40	77	−37	23	Relegation to Swiss Promotion League

Source: Swiss Challenge League
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head goal difference; 5) Head-to-head goals scored 6) Away goals scored; 7) Draw.^[14]
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:

↑ Vaduz qualified for the Conference League second qualifying round by winning the 2025–26 Liechtenstein Cup.

Results

First and second rounds

Home \ Away	AAR	BEL	ETC	NYO	RAP	SLO	VAD	WIL	XAM	YVE
Aarau	—	1–0	2–1	0–1	2–1	3–0	1–0	2–0	2–0	1–2
Bellinzona	5–1	—	0–3	2–0	1–1	0–3	0–1	0–2	1–5	0–0
Étoile Carouge	1–3	2–0	—	1–1	0–2	1–2	1–1	0–0	0–2	2–1
Nyon	4–5	3–1	0–0	—	1–0	1–2	0–1	2–1	1–1	2–2
Rapperswil-Jona	0–1	2–1	1–0	1–0	—	1–2	0–4	1–2	1–3	0–3
Lausanne Ouchy	1–2	2–2	2–0	3–3	0–2	—	1–1	1–1	3–0	4–0
Vaduz	3–2	6–0	3–1	3–0	3–2	3–2	—	2–1	1–0	2–1
Wil	1–3	0–0	1–0	1–0	1–3	0–0	0–2	—	2–1	2–4
Xamax	1–2	1–0	2–1	1–1	2–1	0–2	1–1	3–1	—	2–2
Yverdon-Sport	1–2	2–0	2–0	1–0	1–0	3–2	3–4	4–0	3–1	—

Source: Swiss Football League
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Third and Fourth Rounds

Home \ Away	AAR	BEL	ETC	NYO	RAP	SLO	VAD	WIL	XAM	YVE
Aarau	—	1–0	1–3	5–1	5–3	3–0	2–0	2–2	1–0	2–2
Bellinzona	0–0	—	0–3	4–0	2–4	2–1	0–2	2–4	5–0	0–4
Étoile Carouge	0–3	2–2	—	0–0	2–1	1–1	1–2	2–0	1–3	2–2
Nyon	1–1	1–1	2–2	—	2–1	1–3	1–3	0–1	0–0	1–4
Rapperswil-Jona	4–5	2–1	2–1	2–1	—	1–0	0–0	2–0	2–3	1–4
Lausanne Ouchy	4–2	5–0	0–1	1–1	1–2	—	5–2	0–2	2–1	0–3
Vaduz	1–2	3–2	3–3	1–0	2–1	2–2	—	3–1	1–0	2–1
Wil	2–2	3–3	1–3	0–0	0–2	1–0	1–3	—	5–2	0–1
Xamax	1–3	2–1	3–0	4–1	3–2	3–0	1–3	0–0	—	1–2
Yverdon-Sport	1–2	5–2	3–5	1–0	3–1	0–2	2–1	0–0	2–2	—

Source: Swiss Football League
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Season statistics

As of 12 May 2026

Top scorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Shkelqim Demhasaj	Xamax	21
2	Elias Filet	Aarau	20
3	Valon Fazliu	Aarau	14
3	Antonio Marchesano	Yverdon	14
5	Cleilton Itaitinga	Étoile Carouge	13
6	Daniel Afriyie	Aarau	12
6	Joris Manquant	Nyon	12

Assists

Rank	Player	Club	Assists
1	Valon Fazliu	Aarau	11
2	Elias Pasche	Yverdon	9
3	Dominik Schwizer	Vaduz	8
4	Daniel Afriyie	Aarau	7
	Salim Ben Seghir	Xamax
	Landry Nomel	Lausanne-Ouchy
	Anthony Sauthier	Yverdon
	Hélios Sessolo	Yverdon
	Willy Vogt	Bellinzona

Hat-tricks

Player	For	Against	Result	Date
Valon Fazliu	Aarau	Nyon	4-5 (A)	22 August 2025
Joris Manquant	Nyon	Aarau	4-5 (H)	22 August 2025
Nathan Garcia	Lausanne-Ouchy	Nyon	3-3 (H)	1 November 2025

Clean sheets

Rank	Player	Club	Clean sheets
1	Gentrit Muslija	Wil	12
2	Leon Schaffran	Vaduz	11
3	Marvin Hübel	Aarau	10
4	Kevin Martin	Yverdon	8
5	Dany da Silva	Lausanne-Ouchy	7

Discipline

Most yellow cards: 14
- Néhemie Lusuena (Lausanne-Ouchy)

Most red cards: 2
- Duván Mosquera (Bellinzona)

Awards

Player of the Season : Elias Filet (Aarau)
Coach of the Season : Marc Schneider (Vaduz)

Promotion play-off

The promotion play-off between the eleventh placed team of the 2025–26 Swiss Super League and the runner up of the Swiss Challenge League will be held following the conclusion of the regular season. The play-off is held over two legs, played home and away, and was originally scheduled on the 20 and 23 May 2026. A draw held on 13 March 2026 decided that the Challenge League side will host the first leg and the Super League side will host the second leg.^[15]

Grasshopper's place in the play-off was confirmed on 12 May 2026, following a 3–2 home win against Winterthur.^[16] It will be their third consecutive participation in the relegation play-off. Aarau failed to secure direct promotion on the last matchday of the Challenge League on 15 May 2026, but will receive a second chance in the play-off.^[17] It will be a reprise of last year's play-off.^[18] The relegation play-off was pushed forward by two days, as eleventh placed Grasshopper's home ground Letzigrund would not be available on the date of the second leg.^[19] The new dates will be 18 and 21 May 2026.

First leg

18 May 2026

20:15 CEST (UTC+2)

Aarau	0–0	Grasshopper
	Report

Stadion Brügglifeld, Aarau

Attendance: 8,450

Referee: Anojen Kanagasingam

Second leg

21 May 2026

20:15 CEST (UTC+2)

Grasshopper	2–1 (a.e.t.)	Aarau
Zvonarek 30' Ngom 110'	Report	Filet 44'

Letzigrund, Zürich

Attendance: 18,763

Referee: Urs Schnyder

Grasshopper wins 2–1 on aggregate.

References

↑ "Aufstieg: Stadtrat feiert den FC Rapperswil-Jona mit einer Freinacht". Stadt Rapperswil-Jona. 24 May 2025. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
↑ "Schützenhilfe fehlt: Yverdon steigt ab, Oral mit GC in der Barrage". Kicker. 22 May 2025. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
↑ "Der FC Thun ist zurück – die Schlüsselzahlen zum Aufstieg in die Super League". Swiss Football League. 6 May 2025. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
↑ "Aarau gewinnt schon wieder nicht – Schaffhausen steigt aus der Challenge League ab". Watson. 9 May 2025. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
↑ "FC Aarau". Swiss Football League. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
↑ "AC Bellinzona". Swiss Football League. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
↑ "FC Stade-Lausanne-Ouchy". Swiss Football League. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
↑ Verdon, Emilien (11 February 2020). "Football: SLO jouera la saison prochaine à la Pontaise" (in French). LFM. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
↑ "AC Bellinzona". Swiss Football League. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
↑ "FC Stade Nyonnais". Swiss Football League. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
↑ "FC Vaduz". Swiss Football League. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
↑ "FC Wil 1900". Swiss Football League. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
↑ "Neuchâtel Xamax FCS". Swiss Football League. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
↑ "Reglement für den Spielbetrieb der SFL" (PDF) (in Swiss High German). Swiss Football League. 1 July 2023. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
↑ "DCL-Klub spielt im Hinspiel der Barrage zu Hause" (in Swiss High German). Swiss Football League. 13 March 2026. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
↑ "GC dreht Partie und schickt Winterthur in die Challenge League" (in Swiss High German). SRF. 12 May 2026. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
↑ "Spielverderber Marchesano: Aarau wieder in der Barrage" (in Swiss High German). SRF. 15 May 2026. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
↑ "Wiedersehen in der Barrage: Aarau fordert GC erneut heraus" (in Swiss High German). Swiss Football League. 18 May 2026. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
↑ "Informationen zur Barrage" (in Swiss High German). Swiss Football League. 17 May 2026. Retrieved 18 May 2026.

External links

Official website (in German and French)
Soccerway

[9] 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.^[8]

[table_note_res_PROECL1Q0.75600942678564-15] Vaduz qualified for the Conference League second qualifying round by winning the 2025–26 Liechtenstein Cup.

[1] "Aufstieg: Stadtrat feiert den FC Rapperswil-Jona mit einer Freinacht". Stadt Rapperswil-Jona. 24 May 2025. Retrieved 28 September 2025.

[2] "Schützenhilfe fehlt: Yverdon steigt ab, Oral mit GC in der Barrage". Kicker. 22 May 2025. Retrieved 28 September 2025.

[3] "Der FC Thun ist zurück – die Schlüsselzahlen zum Aufstieg in die Super League". Swiss Football League. 6 May 2025. Retrieved 28 September 2025.

[4] "Aarau gewinnt schon wieder nicht – Schaffhausen steigt aus der Challenge League ab". Watson. 9 May 2025. Retrieved 28 September 2025.

[5] "FC Aarau". Swiss Football League. Retrieved 24 July 2023.

[6] "AC Bellinzona". Swiss Football League. Retrieved 24 July 2023.

[7] "FC Stade-Lausanne-Ouchy". Swiss Football League. Retrieved 24 July 2024.

[8] Verdon, Emilien (11 February 2020). "Football: SLO jouera la saison prochaine à la Pontaise" (in French). LFM. Retrieved 30 May 2022.

[10] "AC Bellinzona". Swiss Football League. Retrieved 24 July 2024.

[11] "FC Stade Nyonnais". Swiss Football League. Retrieved 24 July 2023.

[12] "FC Vaduz". Swiss Football League. Retrieved 24 July 2023.

[13] "FC Wil 1900". Swiss Football League. Retrieved 24 July 2023.

[14] "Neuchâtel Xamax FCS". Swiss Football League. Retrieved 24 July 2023.

[rules-16] "Reglement für den Spielbetrieb der SFL" (PDF) (in Swiss High German). Swiss Football League. 1 July 2023. Retrieved 14 August 2023.

[17] "DCL-Klub spielt im Hinspiel der Barrage zu Hause" (in Swiss High German). Swiss Football League. 13 March 2026. Retrieved 18 May 2026.

[18] "GC dreht Partie und schickt Winterthur in die Challenge League" (in Swiss High German). SRF. 12 May 2026. Retrieved 18 May 2026.

[19] "Spielverderber Marchesano: Aarau wieder in der Barrage" (in Swiss High German). SRF. 15 May 2026. Retrieved 18 May 2026.

[20] "Wiedersehen in der Barrage: Aarau fordert GC erneut heraus" (in Swiss High German). Swiss Football League. 18 May 2026. Retrieved 18 May 2026.

[21] "Informationen zur Barrage" (in Swiss High German). Swiss Football League. 17 May 2026. Retrieved 18 May 2026.

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