The 1943–44 1. Liga season was the 12th season of the 1. Liga since its creation in 1931. At this time, the 1. Liga was the second-tier of the

Swiss football league system The Swiss football league system, is a series of interconnected leagues for association football clubs in Switzerland, with seven teams from Liechtenstein, and one each from exclaves of Germany and Italy, also competing. The system has a hierarchi ...

, next season it would become the third-tier.

Overview

Preamble

In Switzerland during the

second world war World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

period, 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 and leading clubs as they had during the previous World War.

ASF/SFV

Therefore, it came about that the Swiss Football Association (ASF/SFV) expanded themselves. The decision of the extraordinary assembly, held on 9 October 1943 in

Lugano Lugano ( , , ; ) is a city and municipality within the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. It is the largest city in both Ticino and the Italian-speaking region of southern Switzerland. Lugano has a population () of , and an u ...

, was to double the number of members to 28 clubs for the 1944–45 season. The Nationalliga was then to be divided into two strength classes each with 14 teams. The top-tier would become the Nationalliga A (NLA) and a new second-tier, called Nationalliga B (NLB), would be formed with the 14 best teams of this 1. Liga season.

Format

There were 25 clubs competing in the 1. Liga this season. The teams were divided into two regional groups, the eastern group with 12 teams, the western group with 13 teams. Within each group, the teams would play a double round-robin to decide their league position. Two points were awarded for a win and one point was awarded for a draw. The two group winners then contested a play-off to decide the overall 1. Liga championship and the one promotion-slot to the top-tier. The best seven placed teams in each group would be assigned to the newly created NLB. The remaining teams would remain in the 1. Liga, which in the next season would become the third-tier with three groups, each with 10 clubs. In this season there was no relegations to the 2. Liga, which would become the new fourth-tier.

Group West

Teams, locations

Final league table

Group East

Teams, locations

Final league table

Promotion

The two group winners played a two legged tie for the title of 1. Liga champions and for promotion to the

1944–45 Nationalliga A The following is the summary of the Swiss National League in the 1944–45 football season, both Nationalliga A and Nationalliga B. This was the 49th season of top-tier and the 48th season of second-tier football in Switzerland. Overview Pream ...

. The games were played on 18 and 25 June 1944.

Promotion play-off

Bellinzona Bellinzona ( , ; ; is a municipality, a List of towns in Switzerland, historic Swiss town, and the capital of the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. The town is famous for its Three Castles of Bellinzona, three castles (Castelgrande, Montebello, Sa ...

won, were 1. Liga champions and were promoted to the top-tier for the

season. International Genève were assigned to the new NLB.

Further in Swiss football

1943–44 Nationalliga The following is the summary of the Swiss National League in the 1943–44 football season. This was the 47th season of top-tier Swiss football. Overview Preamble In Switzerland during the second world war, sport became an integral part of the ...

1943–44 Swiss Cup The 1943–44 Swiss Cup was the 19th season of Switzerland's football cup competition, organised annually since the 1925–26 season by the Swiss Football Association. Overview Preamble In Switzerland during the second world war, sport became an ...

References

Sources

Switzerland 1943–44 at RSSSF
{{DEFAULTSORT:1943–44 Swiss 1. Liga 1943–44 in Swiss football Swiss 1. Liga (football) seasons

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...