# 2022–23 Swiss Challenge League

The 2022–23 Swiss Challenge League (referred to as the Dieci Challenge League for sponsoring reasons) is the 125th season of the second tier of competitive football in Switzerland and the 20th season under its current name.

## Overview

Ten teams will compete in the league: eight teams of the previous season will participate in the league again. They are joined by FC Lausanne-Sport, the last-placed team of the 2021–22 Swiss Super League, who replace previous season's champions FC Winterthur. Last season's last-placed team SC Kriens were relegated and are replaced by AC Bellinzona, who were promoted from the 2021-22 Swiss Promotion League. FC Schaffhausen, the losers of the 2021-22 relegation/promotion playoff, rejoined the league.
Due to the format change and increased number of teams in the 2023–24 Swiss Super League, this season will function as a transition season. As a result, the top two teams will be directly promoted and no teams will be relegated at the end of the season. Furthermore, the third-placed team will play a promotion playoff against the last placed team of the 2022–23 Swiss Super League, so a total of three teams may gain promotion to the Super League. Two teams of the 2022–23 Swiss Promotion League will be promoted and the third will play a relegation playoff with the last-placed Challenge League team.

### Schedule

The schedule was announced on 17 June 2022. The first matchday will start on Friday 15 July 2022.
Unlike the Super League, the Challenge League will not start the winter break early due to the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which will be held in November and December 2022. As such, the 18th matchday will clash with matches of the World Cup. Restart of the league after the winter break will begin on 27 January 2023 and the season will conclude on the 27 May 2023. Following the end of the season, the two legs of the Relegation Play-off will be played on 31 May and 3 June 2023, respectively. The Promotion Play-off is scheduled for 3 and 6 June 2023, respectively.

## Participating teams
### Stadia and locations

| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| FC Aarau | Aarau | Stadion Brügglifeld | 8,000 |
| AC Bellinzona | Bellinzona | Stadio Comunale | 5,000 |
| FC Stade Lausanne-Ouchy | Lausanne | Stade Olympique de la Pontaise | 15,850 |
| FC Lausanne-Sport | Lausanne | Stade de la Tuilière | 12,544 |
| Neuchâtel Xamax FCS | Neuchâtel | Stade de la Maladière | 11,997 |
| FC Schaffhausen | Schaffhausen | Wefox Arena | 8,200 |
| FC Thun | Thun | Stadion Ralf Wirtz | 10,014 |
| FC Vaduz | Vaduz | Rheinpark Stadion | 7,584 |
| FC Wil 1900 | Wil | Stadion Bergholz | 6,958 |
| Yverdon-Sport FC | Yverdon-les-Bains | Stade Municipal | 6,600 |
* ↑ 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 | Boris Smiljanić | Shkëlzen Gashi | gpard | Credit Suisse |
| Bellinzona | Stefano Maccoppi | Dragan Mihajlović | Acerbis | |
| Lausanne-Ouchy | Anthony Braizat | Lavdrim Hajrulahu | 14fourteen | gerofinance |
| Lausanne-Sport | Ludovic Magnin | Stjepan Kukuruzović | Le coq sportif | Banque cantonale vaudoise |
| Xamax | Uli Forte | Liridon Berisha | Puma | groupe e |
| Schaffhausen | Selcuk Sasivari | Serge Müller | Puma | Methabau |
| Thun | Mauro Lustrinelli | Marco Bürki | Macron | Schneider Software AG |
| Vaduz | Martin Stocklasa | Benjamin Büchel | Puma | MBPI |
| Wil | Brunello Iacopetta | Philipp Muntwiler | ERIMA | Weber und Partner AG LIKA Group AG |
| Yverdon-Sport | Marco Schällibaum | William Le Pogam | Puma | Orllati SA |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of departure | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Thun | Carlos Bernegger | Termination | 21 May 2022 | Pre-season | Mauro Lustrinelli | 16 June 2022 |
| Lausanne-Sport | Alain Casanova | Termination | 22 May 2022 | Pre-season | Ludovic Magnin | 23 May 2022 |
| Yverdon-Sport | Uli Forte | Departure | 4 June 2022 | Pre-season | Marco Schällibaum | 13 June 2022 |
| Schaffhausen | Martin Andermatt | Contract Expiry | 4 June 2022 | Pre-season | Hakan Yakin | 4 June 2022 |
| Bellinzona | Marco Schällibaum | Departure | 13 June 2022 | Pre-season | David Sesa | 21 June 2022 |
| Schaffhausen | Hakan Yakin | Missing coaching licence | 12 August 2022 | 6th | Bigi Meier (interim) | 12 August 2022 |
| Bellinzona | David Sesa | Resignation | 22 August 2022 | 7th | Fernando Cocimano (interim) | 22 August 2022 |
| Xamax | Andrea Binotto | Termination | 28 August 2022 | 10th | Jeff Saibene | 29 August 2022 |
| Schaffhausen | Bigi Meier (interim) | End of interim period | 2 September 2022 | 4th | Hakan Yakin | 12 August 2022 |
| Bellinzona | Fernando Cocimano (interim) | End of interim period | 14 September 2022 | 5th | Baldassare Raineri | 14 September 2022 |
| Aarau | Stephan Keller | Termination | 1 November 2022 | 6th | Boris Smiljanić | 3 November 2022 |
| Vaduz | Alessandro Mangiarratti | Resignation | 16 November 2022 | 8th | Jürgen Seeberger | 15 December 2022 |
| Bellinzona | Baldassare Raineri | Termination | 18 January 2023 | 6th | Stefano Maccoppi | 19 January 2023 |
| Vaduz | Jürgen Seeberger | Resignation | 21 February 2023 | 9th | Jan Mayer (interim) | 21 February 2023 |
| Vaduz | Jan Mayer (interim) | End of interim period | 1 March 2023 | 9th | Martin Stocklasa | 1 March 2023 |
| Bellinzona | Stefano Maccoppi | Termination | 31 March 2023 | 8th | Fernando Cocimano (interim) | 31 March 2023 |
| Xamax | Jeff Saibene | Resignation | 23 April 2023 | 10th | Uli Forte | 25 April 2023 |
| Schaffhausen | Hakan Yakin | Termination | 20 May 2023 | 7th | Selcuk Sasivari (interim) | 20 May 2023 |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or qualification |
| 1 | Yverdon (C, P) | 36 | 20 | 6 | 10 | 64 | 53 | +11 | 66 | Promotion to Swiss Super League |
| 2 | Lausanne (P) | 36 | 17 | 10 | 9 | 58 | 43 | +15 | 61 | Promotion to Swiss Super League |
| 3 | Lausanne-Ouchy (O, P) | 36 | 17 | 9 | 10 | 70 | 53 | +17 | 60 | Qualification for the promotion play-off |
| 4 | Aarau | 36 | 15 | 12 | 9 | 63 | 57 | +6 | 57 | |
| 5 | Wil | 36 | 16 | 8 | 12 | 62 | 52 | +10 | 56 | |
| 6 | Thun | 36 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 62 | 55 | +7 | 49 | |
| 7 | Schaffhausen | 36 | 12 | 8 | 16 | 51 | 59 | −8 | 44 | |
| 8 | Vaduz | 36 | 7 | 16 | 13 | 54 | 56 | −2 | 37 | Qualification for the Europa Conference League first qualifying round |
| 9 | Bellinzona | 36 | 11 | 4 | 21 | 38 | 71 | −33 | 37 | |
| 10 | Xamax (O) | 36 | 4 | 12 | 20 | 42 | 65 | −23 | 24 | Qualification for the relegation play-off |
* ↑ Lausanne-Ouchy were deducted 3 points on 1 November 2022, due to license violations. This decision was overturned following the team's appeal on 22 November 2022.
* ↑ Vaduz qualified for the Europa Conference League first qualifying round by winning the 2022–23 Liechtenstein Cup.

## Play-offs
### Promotion play-off

The relegation play-off will be played in a two-legged game between the last place team of the Super League and the third placed team of the Challenge League. The first leg will be held on 3 June 2023, with the representative of the Super League hosting. The second leg will be held on 6 June 2023.

#### Second leg

    Lausanne-Ouchy wins 6–2 on aggregate.

### Relegation play-off

The relegation/promotion play-off will be played in a two-legged game between the last placed team of the Challenge League and the third placed team of the Promotion League. The first leg will be held on 31 May 2023, with the representative of the Promotion League hosting. The second leg will be held on 3 June 2023.

#### Second leg

    Xamax wins 6–1 on aggregate

## Awards
### Best Player
#### Player of the Round

The best player of the Super League and Challenge League for each matchday is voted for by the viewers from among a selection of players.
| Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 2 | Round 2 | Round 2 | Round 2 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 3 | Round 3 | Round 3 | Round 3 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 4 | Round 4 | Round 4 | Round 4 | Round 4 |
| # | Nat | Player | Team | L | Ref | # | Nat | Player | Team | L | Ref | # | Nat | Player | Team | L | Ref | # | Nat | Player | Team | L | Ref |
| 1 | | Samir Ramizi | Winterthur | (SL) | | 10 | | Cedric Itten | Young Boys | (SL) | | 19 | | André Moreira | Grasshopper | (SL) | | 28 | | Pius Dorn | Luzern | (SL) | |
| 2 | | Hayao Kawabe | Grasshopper | (SL) | | 11 | | Mario Balotelli | Sion | (SL) | | 20 | | Andy Diouf | Basel | (SL) | |
| 3 | | Renat Dadashov | Grasshopper | (SL) | | 12 | | Mohamed Dräger | Luzern | (SL) | | 21 | | Zeki Amdouni | Basel | (SL) | |
| 4 | | Nicky Beloko | Luzern | (SL) | | 13 | | Max Meyer | Luzern | (SL) | | 22 | | Martin Frýdek | Luzern | (SL) | |
| 5 | | Lukas Görtler | St. Gallen | (SL) | | 14 | | Dejan Sorgić | Luzern | (SL) | | 23 | | Lawrence Ati-Zigi | St. Gallen | (SL) | |
| 6 | | Lukas Watkowiak | St. Gallen | (SL) | | 15 | | Lawrence Ati-Zigi | St. Gallen | (SL) | | 24 | | Nicky Beloko | Luzern | (SL) | |
| 7 | | Daouda Guindo | St. Gallen | (SL) | | 16 | | Emmanuel Latte Lath | St. Gallen | (SL) | | 25 | | Noe Holenstein | Winterthur | (SL) | |
| 8 | | Ardon Jashari | Luzern | (SL) | | 17 | | Pascal Schürpf | Luzern | (SL) | | 26 | | Meritan Shabani | Grasshopper | (SL) | |
| 9 | | Marius Müller | Luzern | (SL) | | 18 | | Max Meyer | Luzern | (SL) | | 27 | | Sofyan Chader | Luzern | (SL) | |

### Teams
#### Fair Play

On 14 June 2023, FC Vaduz was awarded the Fair Play Trophy for the dieci Challenge League.
| # | Club | | | | Pts |
| 1 | Vaduz | 82 | 1 | 1 | 90 |
| 2 | Yverdon | 92 | 1 | 0 | 95 |
| 3 | Aarau | 88 | 2 | 1 | 99 |
| 4 | Wil | 82 | 3 | 3 | 106 |
| 5 | Schaffhausen | 93 | 5 | 0 | 108 |
| 6 | Thun | 101 | 1 | 1 | 109 |
| 7 | Bellinzona | 104 | 4 | 1 | 121 |
| 8 | Lausanne | 90 | 6 | 3 | 123 |
| 9 | Xamax | 100 | 4 | 3 | 127 |
| 10 | Lausanne-Ouchy | 121 | 3 | 3 | 145 |
| League Total | League Total | 953 | 30 | 16 | 1123 |
| Average/game | Average/game | 5.29 | 0.17 | 0.09 | 6.24 |
Last updated: 30 May 2023 Source: Fair Play Trophy dieci Challenge League