Article by Cosmin Nistor – Published on Sunday, 03 May 2026, 17:47 / Updated on Sunday, 03 May 2026 17:54
FC Thun produced the surprise of the season in Switzerland! The newly promoted team became Swiss champions and sparked a huge celebration in a town of less than 45,000 inhabitants.
The title was mathematically won without the leader entering the field. After the 1-3 setback against FC Basel, everything was decided on Sunday when Sion won 3-0 at St. Gallen. Following this result, the gap became impossible to recover and Thun has a 10-point lead with just three stages remaining in Switzerland.
FC Thun, newly promoted to the first league
Thun's season is almost impossible to repeat. Promoted in the summer, the team took over the leadership of the ranking since October and did not give it up until the end. All this was achieved with one of the smallest budgets in the championship, in front of clubs with tradition such as FC Basel and Young Boys Bern.
Such a scenario is extremely rare in European football, with comparable examples remaining provided by Nottingham Forest in 1978, FC Kaiserslautern in 1998 and Leicester in 2016, teams that won the title immediately after promotion.
FC Thun, the first trophy in history, after 128 years // PHOTO: Instagram
The first trophy in history, after 128 years
Founded in 1898, FC Thun had never won a major trophy before this season. The club first reached the top flight in 1954, but were quickly relegated and spent decades in the lower leagues. They returned to the first stage in 2001, but their best performance was second place in 2005.
In recent years, the situation has been even more complicated. The team was close to bankruptcy and spending five seasons outside the first league.
Winning the title sees the Swiss qualify for the UEFA Champions League qualifiers, marking a historic comeback after nearly 20 years.
Their last major European adventure came in the 2005-06 season, when Thun knocked out Sparta Prague and reached the group stage of the competition, where they gave Arsenal serious trouble, with the Gunners winning narrowly, 1-0 and 2-1.
