The European Cup in ice hockey remains a difficult business. High travel costs and low attendance lead to red figures. Will the Champions Hockey League be scrapped? Critical voices are growing.
21.11.2025, 05:30
21.11.2025, 07:35
SDA
This time, the European Cup season is already over for the ZSC Lions after the first knockout round. Almost nine months to the day after their triumph in the Champions Hockey League (CHL), the defending champions lost in the round of 16 to Finnish champions KalPa Kuopio in the Far North on Wednesday.
As one of 26 founding clubs, the ZSC Lions have played a key role in the European competition since its relaunch in 2014. However, the very clubs that once supported the project are now increasingly asking fundamental questions.
The sporting quality of the CHL is still considered high. And nobody in Zurich disputes that international comparisons with champions from Sweden, Finland or the Czech Republic have their appeal. But economically, the competition remains a loss-making business. "In sporting terms, we really enjoy playing in the Champions Hockey League," said ZSC Sports Director Sven Leuenberger in an interview with Keystone-SDA before Wednesday's elimination. "But financially, it's simply difficult to justify."
High costs, low income
The problem is particularly clear for Swiss teams. The long journeys, often involving charter flights, drive up expenses. "On a trip like this week to Kuopio, we lose around 100,000 francs," explains Leuenberger. "We have to take a charter flight because there is no sensible onward travel option from Helsinki."
The CHL recently increased the entry fee to 80,000 euros. However, this is hardly enough to cover the basic costs for the 24 participating clubs. "If we hadn't played the final at home last year, we would have been in deficit," Leuenberger calculates. Winning the European Cup does not make you rich. The winner receives a total of 225,000 euros. "Prize money and income should be a gain, not a drop in the ocean," says Leuenberger, who emphasizes that things cannot go on like this.
Declining value, increasing skepticism
The challenge is not just financial. The sporting value is also being questioned in some cases. Sometimes teams are not fielding their best players, a symptom of the tense situation. "That's not an accusation," says Leuenberger. "But when the sporting value decreases and the economic burden increases at the same time, the situation becomes increasingly alarming."
The fact that the stadiums are sparsely filled in many places reinforces the image of a competition that, despite professional marketing, has not really taken off even after more than a decade. The correlations are complex, says Leuenberger. Comparisons with football are not very helpful. "In football, you see players in the Champions League that you would otherwise never see. With us, it's often the other way around. Many of the best European players already play in Switzerland. It's hard to top the experience."
The threat of exits
Swiss clubs are particularly critical of the signals from Scandinavia. Finnish league boss Jyrki Seppä already threatened in the summer to leave in 2028 when the contract with marketing company Infront expires. This is also being considered in Sweden and the Czech Republic.
For Leuenberger, it is clear what this would mean. "If Finland or other top nations pull out, you can close the store. Then it's no longer a European story."
The Swiss clubs, historically closely linked to the CHL and also shareholders in the project via the league, are watching the development with concern. "We are one of the countries that originally set this up," says Leuenberger. "If some people suddenly say we're no longer involved, it will be difficult."
Open future
No decision has yet been made in Zurich as to whether the club wants to remain in the competition in the long term. "Basically, we believe that the CHL is a really good thing in sporting terms, but a much less good thing economically," says Leuenberger. The ZSC Head of Sport has clear expectations of a possible reform. "The next development step must be that travel costs are covered. Prize money and income should be a profit."
Whether this step is possible remains to be seen. The long-term marketing contract with Infront sets limits, spectator numbers are stagnating and the CHL is currently only partially attractive to new sponsors. The central question is therefore: how long can a competition last that is appreciated in sporting terms but has hardly any economic impact?
In any case, the ZSC Lions' mission to defend their European title has come to an early end. The Swiss champions are now turning their focus back to the domestic championship - in the knowledge that their own sporting success cannot solve the structural problems of the CHL.
