The Women's Super League season kicks off

The Mode

In the Women’s Super League, the champion will once again be determined through playoffs this year. The playoffs will begin after the 18-round regular season with the quarterfinals featuring the top eight teams.

The Top Title Contenders

Servette Chênois is the team to beat. As last season’s double champions, the Geneva women were in a league of their own. They kept 18 clean sheets and lost only once during the entire season. It’s a feat the Geneva women would love to repeat.

They are likely to face a tough challenge from the YB women’s team again this season. Under coach Imke Wübbenhorst, the Bernese women reached both the playoff final and the cup final. Only one title eluded them.

The Challengers

Last season, there were just three points separating third and sixth place. Basel, Grasshoppers, Zurich, and St. Gallen can therefore all have high hopes of competing for the top spots in the standings.

While Basel is looking to put behind it the costly substitution error in the playoff quarterfinal against St. Gallen—which cost the team a spot in the semifinals on a technicality—the women from Eastern Switzerland have proven that they can give even big clubs a run for their money. And they’ve done so even though the club relies heavily on Swiss youth players rather than foreign players.

The Teams Threatened with Relegation

It’s likely to be a close race for Aarau, Lucerne, and newly promoted Yverdon-Sport. Last season, Aarau and Lucerne were among the league’s weakest teams. Although Aarau managed to make the playoffs, the FCA had gone 13 games without a win until the end of February.

Lucerne had to compete in the relegation round but secured its place in the league with ease and will do everything in its power to reach the playoffs next season. Yverdon-Sport, on the other hand, made the leap to Switzerland’s top league after three years in the NLB thanks to a strong performance in the promotion/relegation round. It remains to be seen whether the team from Vaud can hold its own there.

This Summer's Transfers

It was the summer of the national team players. Servette Chênois bolstered its roster with Meriame Terchoun and Laia Ballesté, while FC Zurich announced the return of Luana Bühler from Tottenham. Her return, however, should be viewed with caution. Ever since the former national team defensive leader was cut from Pia Sundhage’s roster during the pre-tournament camp shortly before the home European Championship because she was deemed not fit enough, Bühler has not played a single game—neither for her club nor for the national team—due to injury. It therefore remains to be seen when she will take the field for FCZ again.

With Sandrine Gaillard (formerly Mauron), newly promoted Yverdon has made a major signing. After the European Championship, where Gaillard was part of the squad, the midfielder moved from Servette to Tampa Bay Sun in the U.S. last summer. Now, after a year, she has returned to Switzerland.

In addition to the transfers of national team players, there were also several player moves within the league. Donika Deda and Bergros Asgeirsdottir moved from Aarau to Rapperswil-Jona, while Anja Klingenstein and Anida Mujela also left the Red Boots to join YB.

Servette is dealing with a major loss. Therese Simonsson, the Women’s Super League’s top scorer, has left the Swiss champions to join Bundesliga club RB Leipzig. Otherwise, the Geneva-based team has bolstered its roster: In addition to Terchoun and Ballesté, the club signed nine players with international experience, including Noémie Carage, who most recently played alongside Terchoun in Dijon.

The New Faces on the Sidelines

Basel has found a new head coach in Danique Stein. The 36-year-old played over 100 games for FCB herself and therefore knows the club inside and out. She succeeds Omar Adlani in Basel, who, according to a statement, left the club due to differences of opinion regarding their future collaboration. During the playoffs, Adlani had made negative headlines after he and his team were responsible for a costly substitution error.

Eduardo Barrera is the new head coach at Aarau. The former FC Baden coach would have been the club’s top choice last winter, according to the FCA. However, when the club parted ways with Olivier Häusermann, Barrera opted to take the job at Baden.

The First Matches of the New Season

The championship kicks off on Friday with a home game for the newly promoted team. Yverdon-Sport will host FC Zurich. On Saturday, Aarau will face GC, while Rapperswil-Jona will host the St. Gallen women’s team in the cantonal derby. Lucerne will face Basel at home.

The big match of the first round won't take place until August 21. Because of their Champions League qualifying matches, YB and Servette won't face each other until then.