The 1898–99 Swiss Serie A season was the 1898–99 season of the Swiss national football league championship.

Overview

The Swiss championship was played as a knock out competition. It was divided into three regional groups, East (region Zürich) Central (regional north-west Switzerland) and West (

Romandy Romandy (french: Romandie or )Before World War I, the term French Switzerland (french: Suisse française) waalso used german: Romandie or , it, Romandia, rm, Romanda) is the French-speaking part of western Switzerland. In 2020, about 2 milli ...

). The winners of each group played the finals in a

round-robin tournament A round-robin tournament (or all-go-away-tournament) is a competition Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero ...

. In group East the

Anglo-American Club Zürich Anglo-American Club Zürich (also Anglo-American F.C. Zürich) was a Swiss football club based in Zürich, who are known for being the winners of the first official national football championship (then Serie A) in 1899. The team composed mainly ...

were matched against

Grasshopper Club Zürich Grasshopper Club Zürich, commonly referred to as simply GC, GCZ, or Grasshoppers, is a multisports club based in Zürich, Switzerland. The oldest and best known department of the club is its football team. With 27 titles, Grasshopper holds the ...

. The game was drawn and thus a replay was required, which was won by the Anglo-American Club. In the next round they played against

FC Zürich Fussballclub Zürich, commonly abbreviated to FC Zürich or simply FCZ, is a Swiss football club based in Zürich. The club was founded in 1896 and has won the Swiss Super League 13 times and the Swiss Cup 10 times. The most recent titles a ...

and won 5-0. They therefore qualified for the finals. In the central group

FC Basel Fussball Club Basel 1893, widely known as FC Basel, FCB, or just Basel, is a Swiss football club based in Basel, in the Canton of Basel-Stadt. Formed in 1893, the club has been Swiss national champions 20 times, Swiss Cup winners 13 times, and ...

played against

Old Boys The terms Old Boys and Old Girls are the usual expressions in use in the United Kingdom for former pupils of primary and secondary schools.''Oxford English Dictionary'' While these are traditionally associated with independent schools, they are ...

ending in a draw and so it required a replay as well, which was played a month later and also drawn. Because the Old Boys complained that one of the two FCB goals, in this replay match, had been scored by the players hand they protested. The

Swiss Football Association The Swiss Football Association (german: Schweizerischer Fussballverband, french: Association Suisse de Football, it, Associazione Svizzera di Football/Calcio, rm, Associaziun Svizra da Ballape) is the governing body of football in Switzerland ...

had to deal with the matter and subsequently the protest was approved. The disputed goal simply deducted from the result and thus the Old Boys proceeded to the finals. In the final play-off group the majority of the English players from

Lausanne Football and Cricket Club The Lausanne Football and Cricket Club was a Swiss association football and cricket club. The club was founded in 1860 by English students, who had studied at private schools in the area of Lausanne. During the year of the foundation this club ...

refused to play the match against the Old Boys because it was scheduled for a Sunday thus forfeiting victory for the Old Boys. This was the first forfeit in Swiss football history. Finally the Anglo-American Club won the championship.

Qualification groups

East

Central

West

Finals

''NB: The British players of Lausanne refused to play on Sunday.''

References

Sources

Switzerland 1898-99 at RSSSF
{{DEFAULTSORT:1898-99 Swiss Serie A Seasons in Swiss football Swiss Football League seasons 1898–99 in Swiss football

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...