2025–26 Swiss Challenge League

Swiss Challenge League
Season	2025–26
Dates	25 July 2025 – May 2026
Matches	55
Goals	156 (2.84 per match)
Top goalscorer	Shkelqim Demhasaj (Xamax, 10 goals)
Biggest home win	6–0; Vaduz–Bellinzona (22 Aug '25)
Biggest away win	1–5; Bellinzona–Xamax (2 Aug '25)
Highest scoring	4–5; Nyon–Aarau (22 Aug '25)
Longest winning run	Aarau (8); (rounds 1 to 8)
Longest unbeaten run	Aarau (8); (rounds 1 to 8)
Longest winless run	Bellinzona (12); (rounds 1 to 12)
Longest losing run	Bellinzona (4); (rounds 9 to 12); Wil (4); (rounds 4 to 7)
Highest attendance	7.145; Aarau–Vaduz (13 Sep '25)
Lowest attendance	314; Étoile Carouge–Nyon (26 Aug '25)
	← 2024–25 2026–27 → All statistics correct as of 2 November 2025.

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.

Schedule

The season started on 25 July 2025.

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

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 & Armando Sadiku	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	Adonis Ajeti	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	William Le Pogam	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	27	19	5	3	55	28	+27	62	Promotion to Swiss Super League
2	Aarau	26	19	2	5	53	33	+20	59	Qualification for promotion play-off
3	Yverdon-Sport	27	14	5	8	50	34	+16	47
4	Lausanne Ouchy	27	11	6	10	45	36	+9	39
5	Xamax	26	10	6	10	36	36	0	36
6	Rapperswil-Jona	27	9	2	16	32	44	−12	29
7	Wil	26	6	9	11	23	38	−15	27
8	Nyon	27	5	12	10	27	34	−7	27
9	Étoile Carouge	26	6	7	13	28	39	−11	25
10	Bellinzona	27	4	6	17	25	52	−27	18	Relegation to Swiss Promotion League

Updated to match(es) played on 20 March 2026. 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]

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	6 Apr	8 May	5–3	17 Apr	2–0	7 Feb	21 Mar	15 May
Bellinzona	10 Apr	—	0–3	17 Apr	1 May	2–1	0–2	11 May	5–0	0–4
Étoile Carouge	0–3	15 May	—	3 Apr	2–1	10 Apr	8 May	17 Apr	1–3	2–2
Nyon	1–1	1–1	2–2	—	2–1	11 May	24 Apr	1 May	0–0	6 Apr
Rapperswil-Jona	3 Apr	2–1	24 Apr	15 May	—	1–0	0–0	10 Apr	8 May	7 Feb
Lausanne Ouchy	4–2	8 May	0–1	1–1	6 Apr	—	5–2	3 Apr	15 May	24 Apr
Vaduz	11 May	6 Apr	3–3	1–0	17 Apr	1 May	—	3–1	1–0	2–1
Wil	24 Apr	3–3	22 Mar	31 Jan	0–2	1–0	15 May	—	6 Apr	8 May
Xamax	1 May	24 Apr	11 May	10 Apr	3–2	8 Feb	3 Apr	0–0	—	1–2
Yverdon-Sport	1–2	3 Apr	1 May	1–0	11 May	0–2	10 Apr	0–0	17 Apr	—

Updated to match(es) played on 20 March 2026. Source: Swiss Football League
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Season statistics

As of 20 March 2026

Top scorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Shkelqim Demhasaj	Xamax	16
2	Valon Fazliu	Aarau	13
3	Elias Filet	Aarau	12
3	Joris Manquant	Nyon	12
5	Antonio Marchesano	Yverdon	10
6	Daniel Afriyie	Aarau	9
6	Warren Caddy	Lausanne-Ouchy	9

Assists

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Elias Pasche	Yverdon	7
1	Anthony Sauthier	Yverdon	7
3	Salim Ben Seghir	Xamax	6
3	Willy Vogt	Bellinzona	6
5	Daniel Afriyie	Aarau	5
	Ronaldo Dantas	Vaduz
	Valon Fazliu	Aarau
	Nathan Garcia	Lausanne-Ouchy
	Landry Nomel	Lausanne-Ouchy
	Dominik Schwizer	Vaduz

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	Leon Schaffran	Vaduz	11
2	Gentrit Muslija	Wil	10
3	Marvin Hübel	Aarau	8
3	Kevin Martin	Yverdon	8
5	Dany da Silva	Lausanne-Ouchy	7

Discipline

Most yellow cards: 12
- Néhemie Lusuena (Lausanne-Ouchy)

Most red cards: 1
- Edmond Akichi (Lausanne-Ouchy)
- Salim Ben Seghir (Xamax)
- Brian Beyer (Vaduz)
- Yuro Bohon Diet (Wil)
- Warren Caddy (Lausanne-Ouchy)
- Marcin Dickenmann (Aarau)
- Lorik Emini (Vaduz)
- Luca Gelato (Lausanne-Ouchy)
- Juan Ghia (Nyon)
- Djawal Kaiba (Wil)
- Jhildrey Lasso (Bellinzona)
- Néhemie Lusuena (Lausanne-Ouchy)
- Breston Malula (Lausanne-Ouchy)
- Joris Manquant (Nyon)
- Duván Mosquera (Bellinzona)
- Kastrijot Ndau (Wil)
- Jean-Paul N'Djoli (Wil)
- Guillermo Padula (Rapperswil-Jona)
- Victor Petit (Aarau)
- Manuel Polster (Nyon)
- Gilles Richard (Nyon)
- Mauro Rodrigues (Yverdon)
- Vincent Rüfli (Étoile Carouge)
- Coli Saco (Yverdon)
- Aris Sörensen (Bellinzona)
- Dylan Tutonda (Bellinzona)

Promotion play-off

The relegation play-off will be played in a two-legged game between the eleventh placed team of the Super League (5th of the relegation group) and the second placed team of the Challenge League. The winner of the tie will play in the 2026–27 Swiss Super League.

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.

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]

[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-15] "Reglement für den Spielbetrieb der SFL" (PDF) (in Swiss High German). Swiss Football League. 1 July 2023. Retrieved 14 August 2023.

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