1940–41 Nationalliga

Overview

Preamble

In Switzerland during the second world war, sport became an integral part of the "spiritual national defense". This was a political and cultural movement that had already become increasingly important during the late 1930s. Politicians, intellectuals and media professionals had increasingly called for measures to strengthen Switzerland's basic cultural values. Since the Nationalliga games were also considered to be one of the activities that seemed important for maintaining the morale of the population, the military authorities put considerably fewer obstacles in the way of the top players as they had during the previous World War. However, in 1941, the "Lex Zumbühl", named after the Football Association's president, formally banned professional football players. In addition to this, the number of foreign players allowed to play was to be reduced from three to one per team.

Format

At this time, the Swiss Football Association (ASF/SFV) had 12 member clubs in the top-tier and 24 members in the second-tier. The 12 top-tier teams played a double round-robin to decide their league table positions. Two points were awarded for a win and one point was awarded for a draw. The first placed team at the end of the season would be awarded the Swiss championship title. Once again there was no relegation from the Nationalliga, although this time not because of the special circumstances of the war championship, as in the previous year, but as a result of the decision to increase the league to 14 teams. The two additional places were played out between the three group winners of the 1940–41 1. Liga.

Nationalliga

The league season began with the first matchday on 8 September 1940 and was concluded with the last round on 8 June 1941.

Teams, locations

Final league table

No relegation. 14 teams in Nationalliga 1941–42.

Results

Topscorers

Further in Swiss football

• 1940–41 Swiss Cup
• 1940–41 Swiss 1. Liga

References

Sources

• Switzerland 1940–41 at RSSSF

seasons in Switzerland

References

1. Koller, Christian. (2009). "Vierzigerjahre (1940 bis 1949): Die Kriegsmeisterschaften". Zurich Open Repository and Archive.
2. Erste Liga (SFV). (2022). "Statistik der Ersten Liga über Aufstieg und Abstieg ab Saison 1931/32 bis 2022". Erste Liga, Abteilung des SFV.
3. (red) BSC Young Boys AG. (2024). "YB Saison 1940/41". BSC Young Boys AG.
4. Reichmuth, Daniel. (2024). "Servette Rangliste 1940/41". super-servette-ch.