The Women's Super League kicks off on Friday at St. Jakob-Park with a clash between Basel and YB. Alongside Zurich and Servette Chênois, the two teams are part of a quartet that is likely to shape the league.
What was already apparent last season is likely to become even more so this football year: The race for the championship is getting tighter. The pursuers have caught up, and FC Basel in particular can be expected to do a lot. Even the first championship title in the club's history seems possible in the second year under German coach Kim Kulig.
Double winners Servette Chênois and play-off finalists Zurich, who have shared the cup wins and championship among themselves over the last three years, will have to be careful. FCZ are embarking on a somewhat uncertain start under new Austrian coach Renato Gligoroski after numerous important departures. Fabienne Humm, Julia Stierli and Viktoria Pinter are no longer with the team, while two players, Oliwia Wos and Marion Rey, have left for rivals Basel.
While Zurich and Basel appear to be roughly on a par on paper, Servette are still on top in terms of squad strength. The Geneva team has strengthened its squad with two players each from the top Italian and French leagues.
The fourth team to reach the play-off semi-finals last spring, alongside Servette, Zurich and Basel, is YB. The Cup finalists have 18-year-olds Iman Beney and Naomi Luyet in their ranks, whose development will be exciting to follow, especially in view of the Swiss women's home European Championships next summer. All league matches can be watched on the Women's Super League live stream.
Since the play-offs were introduced for the 2021/2022 season, interest in Swiss women's football has also steadily increased in the stadiums. Last season, an average of almost 1,000 spectators attended each play-off match. This season, the champions will once again be decided in the play-offs, but unlike in previous years, they will no longer be decided in a final super final, but in a final with a first and second leg.
The qualifying round comprises 18 rounds. Eight teams make it to the play-off quarter-finals, while two have to play a promotion/relegation round against the top two teams in the NLB.
The 1st round of the 2024/2025 season
On Friday, August 9: Basel - Young Boys (19.00) - On Saturday, August 10: St. Gallen - Servette Chênois, Zurich - Thun (both 16.00), Grasshoppers - Aarau (18.00) - On Sunday, August 11: Lucerne - Rapperswil (14.00).
SDA
