2025–26 FC Basel season
| 2025–26 season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner | FCB Holding David Degen | ||
| Club president | Reto Baumgartner | ||
| Head coach | Ludovic Magnin | ||
| Ground | St. Jakob-Park | ||
| Swiss Super League | Pre-season | ||
| Swiss Cup | Second round | ||
| UEFA Champions League | Play-off round | ||
|
| |||
The 2025–26 season is FC Basel's 132nd season in their existence and the club's 31st consecutive season in the top flight of Swiss football since their promotion in the 1993–94 season. The 2025–26 Swiss Super League season starts on 25 July 2025 and will be completed by 17 May 2026. In addition to the Swiss Super League, Basel also participate in this season's edition of the Swiss Cup, starting in the third round. As Swiss champions, Basel qualified for the 2025–26 UEFA Champions League and here they will start in the play-off round.
Club
FC Basel Holding AG
The FC Basel Holding AG owns 75% of FC Basel 1893 AG and the other 25% is owned by the FC Basel 1893 club members. The club FC Basel 1893 functions as a base club independent of the holding company and the AG. FC Basel 1893 AG is responsible for the operational business of the club, e.g. the first team, the women's first team, a part of the youth department and the back office are affiliated there. All decisions that affect the club FC Basel 1893 are made within the AG.
On 12 May 2025 the AGM of the FC Basel Holding AG and the FC Basel 1893 AG were held and both boards were confirmed. The Holding AG with following members: David Degen (president), Dan Holzmann, Ursula Rey-Krayer and Andreas Rey (vice-president). FC Basel 1893 AG with following members: David Degen (president), Dan Holzmann, Ursula Rey-Krayer, Andreas Rey (vice-president), plus a delegate of the club FC Basel.
Club management
Basel is the only professional club in Switzerland where the position of holding company's president and the club's president is not the same person. The club AGM also took place on 12 May 2025. All the existing members of the club's board were re-elected. These being Reto Baumgartner (club president), Carol Etter, Edward Turner, Tobias Adler, Andrea Häner-Roth and Nicole Leuthard, each unanimously without a vote against or an abstention. Due to Carol Etter's resignation as the club's delegate on the Board of Directors of the Holding AG, a new election was necessary. Club president Reto Baumgartner was nominated to succeed Etter and was elected to this position with an overwhelming majority.[1]
The board of directors of the club are:
| Club chairman | .svg.png){kind=small} Reto Baumgartner
|
| Director | Carol Etter
|
| Director | Edward Turner
|
| Director | Tobias Adler
|
| Director | Andrea Häner-Roth
|
| Director | Nicole Leuthard
|
| Ground (capacity and dimensions) | St. Jakob-Park (37,994)[2] (36,000 for international matches)[3] / (120x80 m) |
Updated to match played 6 May 2024
Source: FCB Official Site
Team management
On 15 May 2024 FCB announced that Daniel Stucki had been appointed as new sports director.[4]
During the off-season, on 13 June 2025 the club announced that their head coach Fabio Celestini was leaving the club. They stated that the 49-year-old was retiring at his own request, after one and a half successful seasons, stating he would like to seek a new challenge.[5]
As awaited by the local press, following this, on 16 June, FCB announced that Ludovic Magnin had signed a two-year contract as new FCB head-coach.[6] One week later, on 21 June the remainer of the staff were named, following the departures of Davide Callà and Thomas Bernhard to the Swiss national football team.[7]
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Sport director | Daniel Stucki from 15 May 2024 |
| Head coach | Ludovic Magnin
|
| Assistant coach | Luigi Nocentini
|
| Assistant coach |  Matthias Kohler
|
| Athletics coach | Carlos Menéndez
|
| Athletics coach | Roger Thöni
|
| Goalkeeper coach | Gabriel Wüthrich
|
| Youth Team U-21 coach | Mario Cantaluppi
|
| Youth Team U-21 co-coach | Erkan Aktas
|
| Youth Team U-21 co-coach | Michaël Bauch
|
Source: FCB official site
Overview
Off and pre-season
About an hour before the kick-off of Basel's last game of the previous season, on 24 May 2025, a supporting program began. This was an honoring and a farewell of their midfield player and former captain, their #34, Taulant Xhaka, who on that day, after appearing in 407 competitive matches for the RedBlue team, played his last league game for FCB and played for the last time in their home stadium Joggeli.[8] Between the years 2010 and 2025, Xhaka played a total of 561 games for Basel's first team scoring a total of 10 goals. 280 of these games were in the Swiss Super League, 42 in the Swiss Cup, 85 in the UEFA competitions (Champions League, Europa League and Conference League) and 154 were friendly games. He scored 6 goals in the domestic league, 2 in the cup, 1 in the European games and the other 1 was scored during the test games. Xhaka had joined the club in 2002 at the age of ten. After advancing through their your department, Xhaka played his entire football career with FCB, with the exception of a one-and-a-half year loan to Grasshopper Club in 2012–13.[9]
Philip Otele had been on loan to FCB from Al Wahda since January and his contract held a buy-out option. On 4 June FCB announced that they had decided to activate this option and Otele would remain with the club on a three-year contract. In that same announcement it also became clear that Romário Baró and Joe Mendes, who had both been in on loan the previous season, would return to their previous clubs Porto and Braga respectively.[10]
On 12 June FC Basel 1893 announced that their former youth player Leon Avdullahu was moving to TSG 1899 Hoffenheim in the German Bundesliga.[11] Hoffenheim confirmed the signing of Avdullahu on a long-term contract the same day.[12] Avdullahu had moved from FC Solothurn to Basel's youth department in 2018. He regularly advanced from their U-14 to their U-21 team and celebrated winning the Swiss U-18 championship at the end of June 2023. In July 2023 he signed his first professional contract and advanced to their first team for their 2023–24 season.[13] Then, a few months later, as Fabio Celestini became FCB head-coach, Avdullahu became a regular starter and at the end of the 2024–25 Swiss Super League season he became Swiss champion and Cup winner with them. During his two seasons with FCB's first team, Avdullahu played a total of 71 games for them, scoring a total of three goals. 63 of these games were in the Swiss Super League and 8 in the Swiss Cup. He scored two goals in the domestic league and the other was scored in the cup.[14]
On 27 June, FCB announced that had signed Koba Koindredi in from Sporting CP on a one-year loan contract. Koindredi had played the previous season with Lausanne-Sport, also on loan.[15] On the same day, 27 June, the club also announced that Bradley Fink had transferred out to Wycombe Wanderers in the League One, the third level of the English football league system.[16] Between the years 2022 and 2025, which also included a one-year loan to Grasshopper Club, Fink played a total of 57 games for Basel scoring a total of 8 goals. 41 of these games were in the Swiss Super League, 7 in the Swiss Cup, 9 in the UEFA Conference League and he appeared in a further 13 friendly games. He scored six goals in the domestic league and two in the cup. He scored a further 5 Goals during the test games.[17]
On 1 July, FCB announced that they had signed Keigo Tsunemoto from Servette on a three-year contract.[18]
Then on 4 July a further player transfer and a further loan contract were confirmed. First, Arnau Comas, who had been on loan to Eibar transferred to Deportivo de La Coruña for an undisclosed fee.[19] Then Đorđe Jovanović, who had been on loan to FK Partizan, moved on to Maccabi Haifa also on loan.[20]
FCB announced on 17 July that they had reached an agreement with the City Football Group, who are the owners of ES Troyes, about a definite transfer of Metinho and that the player had signed in on a five-year contract.[21] In the other direction, on 25 July, the club announced that Roméo Beney had transferred out to Portuguese club Famalicão.[22]
Players
First-team squad
The following is the list of the Basel first team squad. It also includes players that were in the squad the day the season started on 26 July 2025, but subsequently left the club after that date.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Players in on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
Players out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
Transfers in
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
Transfers out
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
.svg.png){kind=small}
Results and fixtures
Kickoff times are in CET.
Legend
Win Draw Loss Postponed
Friendly matches
Pre-season
| 5 July 2025 Friendly | SC Rheindorf Altach | 1–1 | Basel | Sportanlage Walgaubad, Nenzing |
| 15:00 | Fetahu  82' (pen.) |
FCB report | 69' Ajeti |
Referee:  Stefan Macanovic |
| Note: Fair game, no yellow cards | ||||
| 10 July 2025 Friendly | FC Rapperswil-Jona | 2–4 | Basel | Stadion Grünfeld, Jona |
| 18:00 | Kamberi 7' Saliji 19' |
FCB report | 1' Ajeti 26' Otele 48' Traoré 70' Carlos |
Attendance: 2,438 Referee: Lukas Fähndrich |
| Note: Fair game, no yellow cards | ||||
| 12 July 2025 Friendly | Basel | 1–1 | Winterthur | Youth Campus Basel, Münchenstein |
| 13:00 | Shaqiri  63′Adjetey 64' |
FCB report | 34' (pen.) Di Giusto |
Attendance: 0 Referee: Mirel Turkes |
| Note: Fair game, no yellow cards. Due to capacity and safety reasons played behind closed doors. | ||||
| 16 July 2025 Friendly | Basel | 1–1 | FC Wil | Youth Campus Basel, Münchenstein |
| 13:00 | Schmid 24' |
FCB summary | 68' Bytyqi |
Attendance: 0 Referee: |
| Note: Fair game, no yellow cards. Due to capacity and safety reasons played behind closed doors. | ||||
| 19 July 2025 Friendly | Basel | 1–1 | Schaffhausen | Youth Campus Basel, Münchenstein |
| 11:00 | Hunziker 38' (1:0) |
FCB report | 88' (1:1) Gegaj |
Attendance: 0 Referee: Logan Berchier |
| Note: Fair game, no yellow cards. Due to capacity and safety reasons played behind closed doors. | ||||
| 19 July 2025 Friendly | Basel | 3–3 | Villarreal CF | Stadion Schnabelholz |
| 13:00 | Shaqiri 12' Ajeti 27'Carlos 65' |
FCB report | 24' (o.g.) Ajeti 32' Pérez 87' Danjuma |
Attendance: 1,000 Referee: Matthias Gächter |
Swiss Super League
The 2025–26 Super League season was the 129th season of top-tier competitive football in Switzerland. The Swiss Football League (SFL) drew and published the fixtures of the first 22 rounds on 20 June 2025. The rest were to be drawn at a later date.
First and second round
| 26 July 2025 Round 1 | St. Gallen | 2–1 | Basel | Kybunpark, St. Gallen |
| 18:00 | Görtler  21'Görtler 56'Geubbels 75'Owusu 90' |
FCB summary | 14' Leroy 40' (o.g.) Görtler 62' Koindredi 72' Shaqiri |
Attendance: 19,555 Referee: Urs Schnyder |
| 2 August 2025 Round 2 | Basel | v | Grasshopper Club | St. Jakob-Park, Basel |
| 20:30 |
| 6 August 2025 Round 4 * | Basel | v | Young Boys | St. Jakob-Park, Basel |
| 20:30 | ||||
| Note: This match has been pulled forward from 23 August | ||||
| 30 August 2025 Round 5 | Sion | v | Basel | Stade Tourbillon, Sion |
| 20:30 |
| 13 September 2025 Round 6 | Thun | v | Basel | Stockhorn Arena, Thun |
| 18:00 |
| 27/28 September 2025 Round 7 | Basel | v | Luzern | St. Jakob-Park, Basel |
| 5 October 2025 Round 8 | Servette | v | Basel | Stade de Genève, Geneva |
| 16:30 |
| 18 October 2025 Round 9 | Basel | v | Winterthur | St. Jakob-Park, Basel |
| 18:00 |
| 26 October 2025 Round 10 | Lausanne-Sport | v | Basel | Stade de la Tuilière, Lausanne |
| 16:30 |
| 28/29/30 October 2025 Round 11 | Basel | v | Zürich | St. Jakob-Park, Basel |
| 1 November 2025 Round 12 | Young Boys | v | Basel | Stadion Wankdorf, Bern |
| 8 November 2025 Round 13 | Basel | v | Lugano | St. Jakob-Park, Basel |
| 22/23 November 2025 Round 14 | Grasshopper Club | v | Basel | Letzigrund, Zürich |
| 29 November 2025 Round 15 | Basel | v | St. Gallen | St. Jakob-Park, Basel |
| 6/7 December 2025 Round 16 | Winterthur | v | Basel | Schützenwiese, Winterthur |
| 13 December 2025 Round 17 | Basel | v | Lausanne-Sport | St. Jakob-Park, Basel |
| 17 December 2025 Round 18 | Luzern | v | Basel | Swissporarena, Luzern |
| 20/21 December 2025 Round 19 | Basel | v | Servette | St. Jakob-Park, Basel |
| 17 January 2026 Round 20 | Basel | v | Sion | St. Jakob-Park, Basel |
| 24/25 January 2026 Round 21 | Zürich | v | Basel | Letzigrund, Zürich |
| 31 January 2026 Round 22 | Basel | v | Thun | St. Jakob-Park, Basel |
Third round
The fixtures and dates for the third round will be announced on 20 December.
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation[a] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Thun | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 9 | Qualification for the Conference League second qualifying round[b] |
| 3 | Sion | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | +5 | 7 | |
| 4 | Basel | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 7 | +1 | 6 | |
| 5 | Young Boys | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 5 | |
| 6 | Luzern | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 4 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head goal difference; 5) Head-to-head goals scored 6) Away goals scored; 7) Draw.[23]
Notes:
- ^ Teams play each other three times (33 matches), before the league is split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six).
- ^ The 2025–26 Swiss Cup winner qualifies for the Europa League first qualifying round. If the cup winner finishes in the top three, the remaining European berths will pass down to the next highest qualifying teams.
Swiss Cup
The fixtues and dates of the first round were drawn in June 2025.
| 16 August 2025 Round 1 | Biel-Bienne | v | Basel | St. Jakob-Park, Basel |
| 20:30 | ||||
| Note: This match was originally scheduled to be played in Biel/Bienne. However, since the Tissot Arena is unavailable for this encounter on the third weekend of August, a venue swap was arranged at the request of the home team.[24] | ||||
UEFA Champions League
The draw for the play-off round will be held on 4 August 2025.
See also
References
- ^ FC Basel 1893 (6 May 2024). "Mitgliederversammlung 2025". Annual General Meeting 2025. FC Basel 1893 AG. Retrieved 2025-05-12.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Swiss Football League (SFL) (2024). "FC Basel 1893". Swiss Football League (SFL) internet site. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
- ^ FC Basel 1893 (2023). "St. Jakob-Park" (in Swiss High German). FC Basel 1893 AG. Retrieved 2023-11-16.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ FC Basel 1893 (15 May 2024). "Daniel Stucki neuer FCB Sportdirektor" [Daniel Stucki new FCB sports director] (in Swiss High German). FC Basel 1893 AG. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ FC Basel 1893 (13 June 2025). "Cheftrainer Fabio Celestini verlässt den FCB" [Head coach Fabio Celestini leaves FCB] (in Swiss High German). FC Basel 1893 AG. Retrieved 2025-06-13.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ FC Basel 1893 (16 June 2025). "Ludovic Magnin wird neuer FCB-Cheftrainer" [Ludovic Magnin becomes new FCB head coach] (in Swiss High German). FC Basel 1893 AG. Retrieved 2025-06-16.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ FC Basel 1893 (21 June 2025). "Der FCB-Trainerstaff ist wieder komplett" [The FCB coaching staff is complete again] (in Swiss High German). FC Basel 1893 AG. Retrieved 2025-06-21.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ FC Basel 1893 (24 May 2025). "FC Basel - FC Luzern 4:0 (2:0)" (in Swiss High German). FC Basel 1893 AG. Retrieved 2025-05-24.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv” (2025). "Taulant Xhaka- FCB statistics". Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. Retrieved 2025-05-24.
- ^ a b c d FC Basel 1893 (4 June 2025). "Otele bleibt beim FCB" [Otele stays with FCB] (in Swiss High German). FC Basel 1893 AG. Retrieved 2025-06-04.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b FC Basel 1893 (12 June 2025). "Leon Avdullahu wechselt zur TSG 1899 Hoffenheim" [Leon Avdullahu moves to TSG 1899 Hoffenheim] (in Swiss High German). FC Basel 1893 AG. Retrieved 2025-06-12.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Wunschtransfer: Schweizer Talent Leon Avdullahu wechselt in den Kraichgau" [Desired transfer: Swiss talent Leon Avdullahu moves to Kraichgau=language=de]. TSG Hoffenheim. 12 June 2025. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
- ^ FC Basel 1893 (21 July 2023). "Junior Ze, Avdullahu und Kayombo neu im Kader Ersten Mannschaft" [Junior Ze, Avdullahu and Kayombo new in the first team squad] (in German). FC Basel 1893 AG. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv” (12 June 2025). "Leon Avdullahu". Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. Retrieved 2025-06-12.
- ^ a b FC Basel 1893 (27 June 1925). "Der FCB verpflichtet Koba Koindredi leihweise" [FCB signs Koba Koindredi on loan] (in Swiss High German). FC Basel 1893 AG. Retrieved 2025-06-27.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b FC Basel 1893 (27 June 2025). "Bradley Fink wechselt zu den Wycombe Wanderers" [Bradley Fink joins Wycombe Wanderers] (in Swiss High German). FC Basel 1893 AG. Retrieved 2025-06-27.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv” (2025). "Bradley Fink FCB statistics". Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. Retrieved 2025-06-27.
- ^ a b FC Basel 1893 (1 July 2025). "Der FCB verpflichtet Keigo Tsunemoto von Servette" [FCB signs Keigo Tsunemoto from Servette] (in Swiss High German). FC Basel 1893 AG. Retrieved 2025-07-01.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b FC Basel 1893 (4 July 2025). "Arnau Comas wechselt zum RC Deportivo La Coruña" [Arnau Comas moves to RC Deportivo La Coruña] (in Swiss High German). FC Basel 1893 AG. Retrieved 2025-07-04.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b FC Basel 1893 (4 July 2025). "Djordje Jovanovic wechselt leihweise zu Maccabi Haifa" [Djordje Jovanovic moves to Maccabi Haifa on loan] (in Swiss High German). FC Basel 1893 AG. Retrieved 2025-07-04.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b FC Basel 1893 (17 July 2025). "Der FCB übernimmt Metinho definitiv" [FCB definitely take over Metinho] (in Swiss High German). FC Basel 1893 AG. Retrieved 2025-07-17.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b FC Basel 1893 (25 July 2025). "Roméo Beney wechselt nach Portugal" [Roméo Beney moves to Portugal] (in Swiss High German). FC Basel 1893 AG. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Reglement für den Spielbetrieb der SFL" (PDF) (in Swiss High German). Swiss Football League. 1 July 2025.
- ^ FC Basel 1893 (11 July 2025). "Das Cup-Spiel gegen Biel findet in Basel statt" [The cup match against Biel will take place in Basel] (in Swiss High German). FC Basel 1893 AG. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)