2016–17 Swiss Challenge League

The 2016–17 Swiss Challenge League, known for sponsorship reasons as the Brack.ch Challenge League, was the 14th season of the Swiss Challenge League, the second tier in the Swiss football pyramid. It began on 23 July 2016 and ended on 3 June 2017.

Swiss Challenge League

Season	2016–17
Champions	Zürich
Promoted	Zürich
Relegated	Le Mont
Matches played	180
Goals scored	529 (2.94 per match)
Top goalscorer	Jean-Pierre Nsamé (23 goals)[1]
Biggest home win	Servette 6–1 Wohlen (11 September 2016) Schaffhausen 5–0 Chiasso (8 April 2017)
Biggest away win	Chiasso 0–6 Schaffhausen (15 May 2017)
Highest scoring	Zürich 6–3 Aarau[1] (6 November 2016)
Longest winning run	Schaffhausen (8 games)
Longest unbeaten run	Zürich (18 games)
Longest winless run	Wil (17 games)
Longest losing run	Aarau Schaffhausen (7 games)
Highest attendance	14,455 Zürich 3–0 Wohlen[1] (3 June 2017)
Total attendance	505,117[2]
Average attendance	2,806[2]
← 2015–16 2017–18 →

On 1 May 2017 FC Le Mont decided to voluntarily relegate three steps down in the league system after being denied a licence to play in the Swiss Challenge League.^[3][4]

On 18 May 2017, Zürich became champions of the 2016–17 Challenge League following their 1–1 draw against Servette and Neuchâtel Xamax's 2–1 defeat at Schaffhausen.^[5] They are thus promoted back to the top flight immediately following their relegation the previous season.

Participating teams

2015–16 Swiss Challenge League champions FC Lausanne-Sport were promoted to the 2016–17 Swiss Super League. They were replaced by FC Zürich, who got relegated after last place finish in the 2015–16 Swiss Super League. FC Biel-Bienne got relegated from the Challenge League as the Swiss Football League stripped Biel-Bienne of their league licence. Servette FC won promotion from the 2015–16 1. Liga Promotion.

Stadia and locations

Aarau

Chiasso

Le Mont

Neuchâtel Xamax

Schaffhausen

Servette

Wil

Winterthur

Wohlen

Zürich

Locations of clubs in the 2016–17 Challenge League

Team	Venue	Capacity
FC Aarau	Stadion Brügglifeld	8,000
FC Chiasso	Stadio Comunale Riva IV	5,000
FC Le Mont	Stade Sous-Ville	4,000
Neuchâtel Xamax	Stade de la Maladière	12,000
Servette FC	Stade de Genève	30,084
FC Schaffhausen	Stadion Breite LIPO Park Schaffhausen	4,200 8,200
FC Wil	IGP Arena	6,958
FC Winterthur	Schützenwiese	8,550
FC Wohlen	Stadion Niedermatten	3,624
FC Zürich	Letzigrund	23,605

Personnel and kits

Team	Manager	Kit manufacturer
FC Aarau	Marco Schällibaum	Nike
FC Chiasso	Baldo Raineri	Primato
FC Le Mont	John Dragani	Karhu
Neuchâtel Xamax	Michel Decastel	Erima
FC Schaffhausen	Murat Yakin	gpard
Servette FC	Meho Kodro	14fourteen
FC Wil	Maurizio Jacobacci	Nike
FC Winterthur	Umberto Romano (interim)	gpard
FC Wohlen	Francesco Gabriele	Adidas
FC Zürich	Uli Forte	Nike

Managerial changes

Club	Name	Date of departure	Position in table	Replacement	Date of appointment
Wil	Ugur Tütüneker	24 August 2016[6]	7th	Martin Rueda	3 September 2016[7]
Wohlen	Martin Rueda	2 September 2016	9th	Francesco Gabriele	7 September 2016[8]
Schaffhausen	Axel Thoma	7 December 2016[9]	10th	Nedjad Kuruzovic	Interim
Wil	Martin Rueda	12 December 2016	3rd	Ronny Teuber	12 December 2016[10]
Schaffhausen	Nedjad Kuruzovic	Interim	10th	Murat Yakin	21 December 2016[11]
Servette	Anthony Braizat	30 December 2016	5th	Meho Kodro	30 December 2016[12]
Winterthur	Sven Christ	14 February 2017[13]	9th	Umberto Romano	Interim[14]
Wil	Ronny Teuber	27 March 2017	6th	Maurizio Jacobacci	27 March 2017[15]
Chiasso	Giuseppe Scienza	18 April 2017[16]	10th	Baldo Raineri	18 April 2017[17]

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Zürich (C, P)	36	26	7	3	91	30	+61	85	Promotion to 2017–18 Swiss Super League
2	Neuchâtel Xamax	36	22	7	7	66	36	+30	73
3	Servette	36	18	8	10	55	43	+12	62
4	Schaffhausen	36	16	3	17	64	59	+5	51
5	Aarau	36	13	6	17	57	64	−7	45
6	Winterthur	36	11	8	17	45	62	−17	41
7	Wohlen	36	12	3	21	42	60	−18	39
8	Chiasso	36	9	10	17	43	63	−20	37
9	Le Mont[a] (R)	36	8	11	17	31	54	−23	35	Relegation to 2017–18 2. Liga Interregional
10	Wil[b]	36	10	7	19	35	58	−23	34

Source: Swiss Challenge League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored; 4) head-to-head points; 5) draw
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:

1. Le Mont will take voluntary relegation three steps down^[18]
2. Wil were deducted three points for licence rules violation^[19]

Results

First and Second Round Home \ Away AAR CHI LMT NEU SHA SER WIL WIN WOH ZÜR Aarau 1–1 2–1 2–3 3–2 2–0 0–1 1–1 1–0 1–1 Chiasso 3–1 1–2 1–2 2–3 2–2 0–4 0–1 0–2 0–2 Le Mont 0–0 0–0 1–0 1–0 0–2 0–0 1–1 0–3 0–2 Neuchâtel 4–1 3–0 2–1 2–0 2–1 3–2 4–1 1–4 1–3 Schaffhausen 2–3 1–2 1–2 1–4 1–2 1–0 2–2 0–1 1–3 Servette 1–0 1–1 2–1 0–0 0–2 2–1 1–1 6–1 0–4 Wil 0–0 0–0 2–0 0–0 2–1 2–0 5–1 1–2 1–1 Winterthur 1–2 1–1 0–0 0–1 0–1 3–2 3–0 1–0 0–2 Wohlen 1–4 1–2 0–1 0–0 4–0 1–2 1–3 1–0 0–5 Zürich 6–3 1–0 1–1 1–0 5–2 3–0 2–0 2–0 4–0 Source: Swiss Challenge League Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Third and Fourth Round Home \ Away AAR CHI LMT NEU SHA SER WIL WIN WOH ZÜR Aarau 2–3 4–2 2–0 2–2 0–1 4–0 2–3 0–3 3–1 Chiasso 5–1 2–2 0–2 0–6 1–1 3–1 4–1 0–0 1–2 Le Mont 1–0 2–1 1–2 0–2 0–1 0–1 1–0 1–2 2–5 Neuchâtel 3–1 3–0 2–2 0–2 1–0 3–1 4–1 3–1 1–1 Schaffhausen 4–0 5–0 2–2 2–1 2–1 3–0 2–1 3–2 0–4 Servette 1–0 2–2 2–1 1–1 3–2 2–0 2–3 2–0 2–1 Wil 0–3 1–3 0–0 0–4 2–1 0–3 0–1 1–4 0–4 Winterthur 3–2 3–1 4–1 0–1 1–3 1–4 1–1 2–1 0–3 Wohlen 1–2 0–1 0–0 1–2 0–1 0–2 2–1 2–1 1–4 Zürich 3–2 1–1 5–1 1–1 2–1 1–1 0–2 2–2 3–0 Source: Swiss Challenge League Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.