Preamble In Switzerland during the
second world war 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 and Swiss Cup games were also considered to be part 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. However, in 1941, the "Lex Zumbühl", named after the
Swiss Football Association (ASF/SFV) president, formally banned professional football players. In addition to this, the number of foreign players allowed to play was reduced from three to one per team.
Format This season's cup competition began with a preliminary round, which began on the week-end of 22 September 1940. The competition was to be completed on Easter Monday, 14 April 1941, with the final, which since 1937, was traditionally held in the country's capital, at the former
Wankdorf Stadium in
Bern. The preliminary round was held for the lower league teams that had not qualified themselves for the competition. The lower league teams that had qualified via their regional football association's own cup competitions, or had achieved their association's requirements, joined the competition in the first round. The clubs from
this season's 1. Liga were given a bye for the first round and started in the second round. The clubs from the
1940–41 Nationalliga were given byes for the first three rounds. These teams joined the competition in the fourth round which, with one exception, was played on the first week-end in the New Year. The matches were played in a knockout format. In the event of a draw after 90 minutes, the match went into extra time. In the event of a draw at the end of extra time, if agreed between the clubs, a replay was foreseen and this was played on the visiting team's pitch. Rules and regulations to this situation were altered and amended continuously by each regional football assocciation, due to the current situation (
second world war). If the replay ended in a draw after extra time, or if a replay had not been agreed, a
toss of a coin would establish the team that qualified for the next round. ==Preliminary round==