About Switzerland

The Swiss Football Association (ASF/SFV) was established on 7 April 1895, with founding members including Lausanne FCC, St. Gallen, and Grasshopper Zurich. Switzerland was one of the seven founding members of FIFA in 1904 and joined UEFA at its foundation in 1954. The association is headquartered in Bern and holds the distinction of being the first country in continental Europe to embrace football, with the sport introduced in the 1860s by English students and teachers; the Lausanne Football and Cricket Club, established in 1860, is regarded as the first football club in continental Europe.

Switzerland hosted the 1954 FIFA World Cup, at which the tournament's greatest upset occurred — Hungary's defeat to West Germany in the final, despite Hungary being considered near-invincible. The Swiss national team has been a regular presence at major tournaments in the modern era, consistently qualifying for World Cups and European Championships and making notable runs to the quarter-finals. The country has produced a number of world-class players in recent decades, including Granit Xhaka, Xherdan Shaqiri, and Yann Sommer.

Switzerland's unique geopolitical neutrality has also shaped its football institutions: FIFA has been headquartered in Zurich since 1932 and UEFA in Nyon since 1995, making Switzerland the administrative capital of world football. Peter Knäbel has served as SFA president since 2025.