From looking at the team's website, it looks like the club could not meet the monetary obligations to get the Class III license, but then the club received a cash injection from a minority shareholder just in time to get the license. They still have lighting issues, and will probably miss payment of players again next year, but they'll be a Challenge League club. Also, while looking at their website, you can buy a season ticket in the bleacher non-seat areas for 100 CHF. That works out to be about 5.50 CHF per match. That's insane. Considering what one would spend to take the train to Milan, then pay for a ticket to an Inter or Milan match, you could get 18 BCL matches. That's crazy to me. Also, kids under 14 are FREE, and kids between 14-18 can get a season ticket for 50 CHF. It is unbelievably perplexing how this team only draws less than 500 people a match, but even when you do the math, 500 people at 40 CHF a ticket average (and that's being generous) is only 20,000 CHF per match. That's not even salary for one player! It's no wonder they're losing money hand over fist. They should do the voluntary relegation like Wohlen did. Playing at this level makes no financial sense.
Cue the creepy and annoying music ... Chiasso gets a license to keep a BCL presence in Ticino. The magic formula in Swiss Politics worked for a very long time, maybe there is something about keeping a team in the Italian area in BCL as long as possible.
You are probably correct. It really is hard to imagine anyone but Servette going up. No issues here would love to see them go up. Would anyone know where Aarau stands license wise?
I agree that Servette should win the league next season, but watch them throw it away. Schaffahausen as already noted lacks some of the infrastructure. Aarau I do not think can be promoted in their current stadium. Whatever happened to the plans for a new one on the south side of town?
Well they have a webpage dedicated to it (Torfeld Sud) and all it says and I apologize for the poor translation... "The FC Aarau gets a new stadium in the area "Torfeld South" in the vicinity of the Aarau train station? For more information about the current stadium project will be published as soon as the planning phase at this point, after the positive federal court decision is completed." So it appears this is by no means a done deal.... wonder how Schaffhausen got theirs done so effortlessly it appears?
In one last moment of bizarness, for FC Wohlen, Kosovo and Cote D'Ivoire will play a full international friendly in Wohlen! At the stadium that was not up to SFF standards, but is able to host a full International.
Major changes announced by the SFL today. Starting next season the 9th place RSL team and the 2nd place BCL team will play a home and home to determine who plays in the RSL and who plays in the BCL. I love this, it keeps the interest longer, especially if another club does something like Wohlen. Also, there will be 4 sub in the BCL as a trial. There will also no longer be Monday matches in the BCL https://www.lematin.ch/sports/football/swiss-football-league-grand-retour-barrages/story/27217790
And to bring it home, Wohlen is one of the 4 cities in Switzerland who will host the UEFA U19 Women's championship. Yverdon, Biel and Zug are the others.