| Football in Switzerland | |
|---|---|
 Swiss national team in 2006 | |
| Country | Switzerland |
| Governing body | Swiss Football Association |
| National team(s) | men's national team |
| First played | 1895 |
National competitions | |
Club competitions | |
International competitions | |
Football is the most popular sport in Switzerland.[1][2][3][4] The Swiss Football Association was formed in 1895 and was a founder member of the sport's international governing body FIFA in 1904. The Swiss cities of Zürich and Nyon are home to FIFA and the European governing body UEFA respectively. The country played host to the 1954 World Cup and 2008 European Championship.
Switzerland has an extensive league system, with the Swiss Super League as the country's premier men's competition. There are also several cup competitions, most notably the national Swiss Cup.[5][6]
The Swiss national team participated in the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany and were narrowly beaten by Ukraine on penalties in the round of 16. Switzerland co-hosted the UEFA Euro 2008 tournament together with Austria. They were eliminated in the group stage, although they did record a win against Portugal. The best international result was in 1954 when Switzerland, as the host, reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup. They also reached the World Cup quarter-finals in 1934 as well as 1938.[7]
- ^ "Switzerland's unlikely World Cup heroes". BBC News. 1 July 2014.
- ^ "CIES: Publication of the first Swiss Football Study". Cies.ch. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
- ^ Moore, Glenn (4 June 2011). "Hitzfeld puts trust in cosmopolitan youth to revive struggling Swiss - World Cup 2014 - Football". The Independent. London. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
- ^ Renat Kuenzi (14 October 2013). "2014 World Cup : Brazilian sun shines on Swiss football". swissinfo.ch. Archived from the original on 6 November 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
- ^ "When Saturday Comes - A bright future for Switzerland?". Wsc.co.uk. 20 November 2009. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
- ^ "Football season puts focus on grassroots level". swissinfo.ch. 19 July 2006. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
- ^ Amy Lawrence (4 September 2010). "Switzerland put faith in youthful blend | Football | The Observer". The Observer. Theguardian.com. Retrieved 15 November 2013.