# 2017–18 Swiss Challenge League

The 2017–18 Swiss Challenge League (referred to as the Brack.ch Challenge League for sponsoring reasons) is the 15th season of the Swiss Challenge League, the second tier of competitive football in Switzerland, under its current name. The season started on 21 July 2017 and is scheduled to end on 21 May 2018. The winter break began on 11 December 2017 and the league resumed on 2 February 2018.

## Participating teams

A total of 10 teams participate in the league. 2016–17 Swiss Challenge League champions Zürich were promoted to the 2017–18 Swiss Super League. They were replaced by FC Vaduz, who got relegated after finishing last-placed in the 2016–17 Swiss Super League. Le Mont was relegated after failing to renew their licence. They were replaced by Rapperswil-Jona, who won promotion from the 2016–17 Swiss Promotion League.

### Stadia and locations

| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| Aarau | Aarau | Stadion Brügglifeld | 8,000 |
| Chiasso | Chiasso | Stadio Comunale Riva IV | 5,000 |
| Neuchâtel Xamax | Neuchâtel | Stade de la Maladière | 12,000 |
| Rapperswil-Jona | Rapperswil-Jona | Stadion Grünfeld | 2,500 |
| Servette | Geneva | Stade de Genève | 30,084 |
| Schaffhausen | Schaffhausen | Stadion Breite LIPO Park Schaffhausen | 4,200 8,200 |
| Vaduz | Vaduz | Rheinpark Stadion | 7,584 |
| Wil | Wil | IGP Arena | 6,958 |
| Winterthur | Winterthur | Schützenwiese | 8,550 |
| Wohlen | Wohlen | Stadion Niedermatten | 3,624 |

### Personnel

| Team | Manager |
| Aarau | Stephan Keller (caretaker) |
| Chiasso | Baldassarre Raineri |
| Neuchâtel Xamax | Michel Decastel |
| Rapperswil-Jona | Urs Meier |
| Schaffhausen | Boris Smiljanić |
| Servette | Bojan Dimic |
| Vaduz | Roland Vrabec |
| Wil | Konrad Fünfstück |
| Winterthur | Livio Bordoli |
| Wohlen | Ranko Jakovljević |

### Managerial changes

| Club | Name | Manner of departure | Date of departure | Position in table | Replacement | Date of appointment |
| Wil | Maurizio Jacobacci | Resign | 4 June 2017 | Pre-season | Konrad Fünfstück | 18 June 2017 |
| Aarau | Marco Schällibaum | Mutual Consent | 6 June 2017 | Pre-season | Marinko Jurendic | 7 June 2017 |
| Chiasso | Baldo Raineri | Sacked | 6 June 2017 | Pre-season | Guillermo Abascal | 12 June 2017 |
| Wohlen | Francesco Gabriele | Mutual Consent | 15 June 2017 | Pre-season | Ranko Jakovljević | 15 June 2017 |
| Schaffhausen | Murat Yakin | Signed by Grasshopper | 28 August 2017 | 1st | Boris Smiljanić | 28 August 2017 |
| Winterthur | Umberto Romano | Sacked | 3 January 2018 | 9th | Livio Bordoli | 3 January 2018 |
| Servette | Meho Kodro | Sacked | 3 March 2018 | 5th | Bojan Dimic | 3 March 2018 |
| Aarau | Marinko Jurendic | Sacked | 21 March 2018 | 6th | Stephan Keller (interim) | 22 March 2018 |
| Chiasso | Guillermo Abascal | Sacked | 3 April 2018 | 8th | Baldassarre Raineri | 3 April 2018 |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Neuchâtel Xamax (C, P) | 36 | 26 | 7 | 3 | 82 | 39 | +43 | 85 | Promotion to 2018–19 Swiss Super League |
| 2 | Schaffhausen | 36 | 21 | 1 | 14 | 70 | 51 | +19 | 64 | |
| 3 | Servette | 36 | 17 | 11 | 8 | 56 | 38 | +18 | 62 | |
| 4 | Vaduz | 36 | 16 | 11 | 9 | 66 | 50 | +16 | 59 | Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round |
| 5 | Rapperswil-Jona | 36 | 16 | 8 | 12 | 53 | 45 | +8 | 56 | |
| 6 | Aarau | 36 | 12 | 8 | 16 | 53 | 62 | −9 | 44 | |
| 7 | Wil | 36 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 40 | 50 | −10 | 39 | |
| 8 | Chiasso | 36 | 11 | 6 | 19 | 42 | 60 | −18 | 36 | |
| 9 | Winterthur | 36 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 45 | 60 | −15 | 32 | |
| 10 | Wohlen (R) | 36 | 3 | 9 | 24 | 41 | 93 | −52 | 18 | Relegation to 2018-19 Swiss Promotion League |
* ↑ Vaduz qualified for the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League as winners of the 2017–18 Liechtenstein Cup.
* ↑ Chiasso were deducted three points for licence rules violation
* ↑ Wohlen waived license application and will not continue professional football in the 2018–19 season.

## Season statistics
### Top goalscorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Raphaël Nuzzolo | Neuchâtel | 26 |
| 2 | Tunahan Cicek | Schaffhausen | 21 |
| 3 | Hélios Sessolo | Schaffhausen | 16 |
| 4 | Mychell Chagas$^1$ | Servette (6) / Rapperswil-Jona (9) | 15 |
| 5 | Marko Dević | Vaduz | 13 |
$^1$Chagas played 17 games for Rapperswil-Jona then signed for Servette.