# 2020–21 Swiss Challenge League

The 2020–21 Swiss Challenge League (referred to as the Brack.ch Challenge League for sponsoring reasons) is the 18th season of the Swiss Challenge League, the second tier of competitive football in Switzerland, under its current name. The season started on 18 September 2020 and is scheduled to end on 30 May 2021. The start of the season was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland. The league held its winter break between 22 December 2020 and 23 January 2021.

## Participating teams

A total of 10 teams participate in the league. 2019–20 Swiss Challenge League champions FC Lausanne-Sport and runner-up FC Vaduz were promoted to the 2020–21 Swiss Super League. They were replaced by Neuchâtel Xamax FCS, who got relegated after finishing last-placed in the 2019–20 Swiss Super League, and FC Thun, who lost the relegation game. No team was relegated due to the cancellation of the 2019–20 Swiss Promotion League caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland.

### Stadia and locations

| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| FC Aarau | Aarau | Stadion Brügglifeld | 8,000 |
| FC Chiasso | Chiasso | Stadio Comunale Riva IV | 5,000 |
| Grasshopper Club Zürich | Zürich | Letzigrund | 26,104 |
| SC Kriens | Kriens | Stadion Kleinfeld | 5,360 |
| FC Stade Lausanne-Ouchy | Lausanne | Stade Olympique de la Pontaise | 15,850 |
| Neuchâtel Xamax FCS | Neuchâtel | Stade de la Maladière | 11,997 |
| FC Schaffhausen | Schaffhausen | LIPO Park Schaffhausen | 8,200 |
| FC Thun | Thun | Stockhorn Arena | 10,014 |
| FC Wil 1900 | Wil | IGP Arena | 6,958 |
| FC Winterthur | Winterthur | Schützenwiese | 8,550 |
* ↑ Stade-Lausanne-Ouchy's home stadium Stade Juan-Antonio-Samaranch in Lausanne can not accommodate SLO for the Challenge League. SLO will play at the Stade Olympique de la Pontaise in Lausanne.

### Personnel and kits

| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Aarau | Stephan Keller | Elsad Zverotić | gpard | Swiss Red Cross, Credit Suisse |
| Chiasso | Baldassare Raineri | Younes Bnou Marzouk | Macron | Caffè Chicco d'Oro, Autoronchetti |
| Grasshoppers | Zoltán Kádár (caretaker) | Aleksandar Cvetković | Puma | none (No to Racism) |
| Kriens | Bruno Berner | Elia Alessandrini | Joma | MVM AG |
| Lausanne-Ouchy | Meho Kodro | Andy Laugeois | 14Fourteen | none |
| Neuchâtel | Martin Rueda | Laurent Walthert | Erima | Groupe E, Briq |
| Schaffhausen | Murat Yakin | Imran Bunjaku | Puma | Pistoleros, doc-oliday |
| Thun | Carlos Bernegger | Nicola Sutter | Macron | Schneider Software AG |
| Wil | Alexander Frei | Philipp Muntwiler | Erima | Planet Pure |
| Winterthur | Ralf Loose | Davide Callà | gpard | Keller, Init7 |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of departure | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Thun | Marc Schneider | Resigned | 5 October 2020 | 9th | Carlos Bernegger | 11 October 2020 |
| Xamax | Stéphane Henchoz | Sacked | 13 December 2020 | 9th | Martin Rueda | 13 December 2020 |
| Grasshoppers | João Carlos Pereira | Sacked | 5 May 2021 | 1st | Zoltán Kádár (caretaker) | 5 May 2021 |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Grasshoppers (C, P) | 36 | 19 | 8 | 9 | 60 | 43 | +17 | 65 | Promotion to 2021–22 Swiss Super League |
| 2 | Thun (Q) | 36 | 19 | 7 | 10 | 57 | 46 | +11 | 64 | Qualification to promotion/relegation play-offs |
| 3 | Lausanne-Ouchy | 36 | 15 | 13 | 8 | 57 | 39 | +18 | 58 | |
| 4 | Schaffhausen | 36 | 16 | 10 | 10 | 59 | 46 | +13 | 58 | |
| 5 | Aarau | 36 | 17 | 7 | 12 | 66 | 59 | +7 | 58 | |
| 6 | Winterthur | 36 | 11 | 10 | 15 | 50 | 52 | −2 | 43 | |
| 7 | Wil | 36 | 10 | 9 | 17 | 43 | 52 | −9 | 39 | |
| 8 | Kriens | 36 | 9 | 11 | 16 | 40 | 48 | −8 | 38 | |
| 9 | Xamax | 36 | 10 | 6 | 20 | 36 | 58 | −22 | 36 | |
| 10 | Chiasso (R) | 36 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 35 | 60 | −25 | 36 | Relegation to Swiss Promotion League |

## Statistics
### Top scorers

    As of 20 May 2021
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Rodrigo Pollero | Schaffhausen | 19 |
| 2 | Filip Stojilković | Aarau | 15 |
| 3 | Louis Mafouta | Neuchâtel Xamax | 14 |
| 3 | Ivan Prtajin | Schaffhausen | 14 |
| 5 | Yanis Lahiouel | Lausanne-Ouchy | 12 |
| 6 | Roman Buess | Winterthur | 11 |
| 6 | Saleh Chihadeh | Thun | 11 |
| 6 | Zeki Amdouni | Lausanne-Ouchy | 11 |
| 6 | Léo Bonatini | Grasshoppers | 11 |
| 10 | Shkelqim Demhasaj | Grasshoppers | 10 |

## Awards

* Brack.ch Challenge League Best Player 2020: Asumah Abubakar (Kriens)

## Promotion play-offs

The ninth-placed team of the 2020–21 Swiss Super League, Sion, played against the runners-up of the 2020–21 Swiss Challenge League, Thun.

### Second leg

Sion won 6–4 on aggregate.