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. The start of the season was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland. The league held its winter break between 22 December 2020 and 23 January 2021.
Participating teams A total of ten 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
Team Location Stadium Capacity FC Aarau Aarau Stadion Brügglifeld 8,000 FC Chiasso Chiasso Stadio Comunale Riva IV 5,000 Grasshopper Club Zürich Zürich Letzigrund 26,104 SC Kriens Kriens Stadion Kleinfeld 5,360 FC Stade Lausanne-Ouchy Lausanne Stade Olympique de la Pontaise 15,850 Neuchâtel Xamax FCS Neuchâtel Stade de la Maladière 11,997 FC Schaffhausen Schaffhausen LIPO Park Schaffhausen 8,200 FC Thun Thun Stockhorn Arena 10,014 FC Wil 1900 Wil IGP Arena 6,958 FC Winterthur Winterthur Schützenwiese 8,550
Personnel and kits Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsorAarau Stephan Keller Elsad ZverotićgpardSwiss Red Cross, Credit SuisseChiasso Baldassare Raineri Younes Bnou MarzoukMacronCaffè Chicco d'Oro, AutoronchettiGrasshoppers Zoltán Kádár (caretaker) Aleksandar CvetkovićPumanone (No to Racism)Kriens Bruno Berner Elia AlessandriniJomaMVM AGLausanne-Ouchy Meho Kodro Andy Laugeois14FourteennoneNeuchâtel Martin Rueda Laurent WalthertErimaGroupe E, BriqSchaffhausen Murat Yakin Imran BunjakuPumaPistoleros, doc-olidayThun Carlos Bernegger Nicola SutterMacronSchneider Software AGWil Alexander Frei Philipp MuntwilerErimaPlanet PureWinterthur Ralf Loose Davide CallàgpardKeller, Init7
Managerial changes Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of departure Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment Thun Marc Schneider Resigned 5 October 2020 9th Carlos Bernegger 11 October 2020 Xamax Stéphane Henchoz Sacked 13 December 2020 9th Martin Rueda 13 December 2020 Grasshoppers João Carlos Pereira Sacked 5 May 2021 1st Zoltán Kádár (caretaker) 5 May 2021
League table
Results
First and Second Round
Third and Fourth Round
Statistics Top scorers
Rank Player Club Goals 1 Rodrigo PolleroSchaffhausen 19 2 Filip StojilkovićAarau 153 Louis MafoutaNeuchâtel Xamax14 Ivan PrtajinSchaffhausen 5 Yanis LahiouelLausanne-Ouchy 126 Roman BuessWinterthur11 Saleh ChihadehThun Zeki AmdouniLausanne-Ouchy Léo BonatiniGrasshoppers 10 Shkelqim DemhasajGrasshoppers 10
Awards +Swiss Football League Awards 2020AwardWinnerNationalityClubPlayer of the SeasonAsumah Abubakar PortugalSC Kriens
Promotion play-offs
References
External links