The most exciting title race in Europe: Ending the Young Boys dominance over Switzerland

Less than 10 years ago, in the spring of 2017, FC Basel had secured their 11th Swiss Super League (SSL) title and their 8th in a row. Yes, you read that correctly, FC Basel had mastered Swiss football in an era defined by their sheer dominance. This was a team that had produced super stars, such as Mohammed Salah, Xherdan Shaqiri and Yann Sommer to name a few, and focused on youth production and subsequent sales to maintain such dominance in the landlocked country.

But shockingly, FC Basel have yet to win a title since, meaning they have gone almost 8 years without one. The reason: poor mismanagement, a drop off in their scouting department and an inability to keep their highest prospects for long. Actually, the last reason if considerably relevant, as in the past Basel could manage to hold on to a top prosect for much longer, meaning they could receive great performances and a higher transfer value when a large European club came with bags of cash.

But in recent times, they have had to sell early due to increasing debts before the player can even properly break out. Combine this with some smart recruitment from rivals Young Boys, who have excellently taken advantage of Basel’s collapse, and you get a complete reverse in fortune. Young Boys have won 6 of the last 7 super league titles, thanks in part to the incredible work of Jean-Pierre Nsame, who has an absolutely outrageous record of 140 goals in 241 games spanning between 2017 and 2024.

The shift of dominance is in no way a coincidence with Nsame’s arrival. His incredible record allowed Young Boys to flourish, scoring goals for fun and recruiting well, peaking in perhaps a pinnacle moment of beating Manchester United 2-1 in front of a packed out Wankdorf stadium in the 2021/22 group stage of the Champions League. But, despite the combination of domestic success and memorable European nights, Young Boys’ form has drastically deteriorated this season. Their capitulation can be seen across the super league, where they are sitting in 5th place and are 8 points from top, and in the champions league where they lost every single game sitting in last place with a goal difference of -21. Among these losses were some real low points: a 5-1 thumping from underperformers Stuttgart, a last minute 0-1 loss to Inter and a 0-1 loss to Serbian side Red Star Belgrade to conclude a rotten European campaign. In fact, Young Boys only scored a measly 3 goals meaning they are most certainly the worst team in all 3 European competitions this season.

Their domestic form isn’t much to be desired either, notably losing to bottom of the league Winterthur last month and miles off being in contention to retain their title. In fact, in a rather full circle moment next week Basel host Young Boys that will all but confirm the shifting of hands as a win could place Basel top of the league ahead of Servette.

Speaking of Servette, it brings me to my larger point about this article. It is not necessarily just about the re-emergence of Basel as a true title contender, but rather that the SSL this season is possibly the tightest top flight league in Europe. The difference between 1st and 7th place is just 9 points and there are arguably still 4 realistic candidates for the title. Servette sit in the driving seat, 2 points above Basel and in near perfect form having won their last 5 in a row, of which one of these results was a 2-1 win vs Basel. This is thrilling because Servette’s first and only title was way back in 1999 meaning there is a significant pressure for them to hold onto this tight lead. In 2nd place, as mentioned, are Basel, a team that at one point 2 seasons ago looked as if they might go down but they have since turned it around. Basel haven’t won the title since 2017 which means they also have big pressure on their shoulders to please their large fanbase who were so used to winning every season. Sitting just 2 points behind them is Luzern, who have never won the super league, the closest they came being in 2012 where they placed second. Even in 4th place, Lugano sit level on points with Luzern, a team who were also only crowned champions once back in 2001, and the team that finished runner up to Young Boys last season.

Thus, there are 4 realistic candidates for the super league title and all the teams have significant motivation due to a lack of success. 3 underdogs and 1 fallen giant sit above the team from the capital who previously held incredible dominance over the league, meaning that the title race is finally interesting in Switzerland. The competitiveness of the SSL this season has been brilliant to watch and no matter the victors come the end of May, it will no doubt spark inspiration for the league. A league that for so long has been plagued by monopolisation for 2 decades. A league that has been stifled much in the same way as the Austrian Bundesliga was. And let’s hope that the closeness of the title race is an indication of a brighter future for football in Switzerland, where success can be more equally shared and increase the fan culture and attendances across the country.

In fact, this season has the potential to make a real ripple effect in football fan culture across the country. The average attendance in the SSL has increased steadily in the last 10 years, with Young Boys seeing the highest growth, going from 10,000 empty seats a game to practically selling out. The overall league averaged has also increased by around 2,000 in 10 years. This is a sign of progress in Swiss football coinciding with a great period in national team history, seeing their highest FIFA world ranking since the early 1990s. A title race so tight with a potential unlikely winner may just be the momentum the SSL needs to build upon. It is clear that Switzerland has a large amount of fans interested in the sport but most interest in club football goes to Young Boys, Basel, St Gallen and to a lesser extent FC Zurich. Even title challengers Lugano only have a stadium capacity of just under 5,000 and average 4,000 a game, meaning they would surely be one of the smallest teams to win the title.

But this is exactly my point: a title win puts investment to a smaller team, increasing their fanbase and puts eyeballs on a team outside of the ‘big 3’. Lugano are from a small city near the Italian border but a super league title would surely galvanise a boost in support. At the moment, there is linear progress but the question is for how long.

Over the next few seasons we may see a return to normality, where one team scoops up the title over and over, and understandably attendances are going to drop. But, maybe with the correct investment into the league, things can become slightly more equitable especially if Young Boys lose their European qualification money to a smaller team – which is looking increasingly likely. As for now, we shall have to wait and see, but the competitiveness of the SSL has never been better and there is definitely room for optimism and hopes for change.

Whoever lifts the title on the 24th May, it will most certainly be a step in the right direction for ending Young Boys’ dominance.