FC Thun and coach Mauro Lustrinelli resumed training on January 2
Image: Keystone
Thun were the big surprise of the first half of the season and go into the championship race as favourites
Image: Keystone
FC Luzern was one of the Super League teams that did not travel south and had to train in freezing conditions
Image: Keystone
Grasshoppers with Amir Abrashi also stayed at home in Niederhasli
Image: Keystone
FC Basel were allowed to take part in a training camp in Marbella in southern Spain
Image: Keystone
FC Thun and coach Mauro Lustrinelli resumed training on January 2
Image: Keystone
Thun were the big surprise of the first half of the season and go into the championship race as favourites
Image: Keystone
FC Luzern was one of the Super League teams that did not travel south and had to train in freezing conditions
Image: Keystone
Grasshoppers with Amir Abrashi also stayed at home in Niederhasli
Image: Keystone
FC Basel were allowed to take part in a training camp in Marbella in southern Spain
Image: Keystone
The Super League kicks off the second half of the season this weekend. Everything you need to know ahead of the second part of the championship.
16.01.2026, 05:01
16.01.2026, 06:48
SDA
How and when will the games be played?
The second half of the season starts this weekend. All teams have played 19 games and still have at least 19 to go. For the third time since the reform, the league will be split into two after 33 rounds: the Championship Group and the Relegation Group. The break follows on April 12. In the last five rounds, the teams in the two groups will play each other once. The last match day will take place on May 16 and 17. The barrage matches for the last place in the next Super League season are scheduled for May 20 and 23.
What will be decided?
For the teams in the Relegation Group, the aim is to avoid the last two places. The bottom team will be relegated directly to the Challenge League, while the penultimate team will play a barrage match against the runner-up in the Challenge League. The six participants in the Championship Group play for the championship title and a place in next season's European Cup.
How exciting will it be?
Since the new mode was introduced, it has become clear that the race for participation in the Championship Group is an enriching one. In the last two years, the gaps around 6th place were small, but the impact on the rest of the season was huge. In the Championship Group, the European Cup places were still within reach for everyone. In the Relegation Group, there is nothing left for the best teams to win and usually nothing left to lose.
How much European Cup for Switzerland?
Switzerland is paying the price for its fall in the relevant UEFA rankings, which compare the various European leagues with one another. Unlike in the last two years, the Super League will only have four instead of five European Cup participants in the coming season. The champions, their first two runners-up and the cup winners are guaranteed a place in the European Cup qualifiers.
Who will be in the championship race?
FC Thun are the first promoted team to start the second half of the season as winter champions. The Bernese Oberland side have a three-point lead over FC St. Gallen, eight over champions Basel and eleven over cantonal rivals Young Boys. For the betting agencies, Thun is the number one candidate for the title, not least because the statistics clearly speak in favor of Mauro Lustrinelli's team. Only once in the last twelve seasons have the winter champions not been crowned champions, namely last year when Basel overtook Lugano.
What has the winter break changed?
The short winter break, which at best meant a two-week training break for the players, has not upset the balance of power on paper. One or two key players are now out injured, such as Basel's Metinho, Lausanne's top scorer Théo Bair, youngster Jaouen Hadjam and Thun's Christopher Ibayi and Nils Reichmuth. However, there has been no decisive transfer so far, with FC Zurich most likely to feel the impact of Steven Zuber's departure.
Where were the clubs?
More than half of the Super League clubs attended a training camp in warmer regions. Basel, St. Gallen, Lugano and Servette traveled to Spain, YB and Winterthur to Turkey and Sion to Tunisia. Thun, Lucerne, Zurich, Lausanne and GC stayed at their training grounds.
What else is going on?
For Basel and the Young Boys, it's back-to-back action in January. They will play their final two league games in the Europa League on the last two Thursdays of the month and want to follow Lausanne-Sport into the European Cup knockout phase. The Vaud side will play their two sixteenth-final matches in the Conference League on February 19 and 26. Nationally, the quarter-finals in the Cup are scheduled for February 3 and 4, with the semi-finals taking place on the weekend of April 18 and 19. The final will take place on May 24.
