There were 32 member clubs in the
Swiss Football Association (ASF/SFV), divided into two tiers of 16 teams each. The top tier was named Nationalliga A (NLA) and the second tier was named Nationalliga B (NLB). In both divisions the teams played a double
round-robin to decide their table positions. The Swiss champions would qualify for the
1986–87 European Cup, the runners-up and third placed team would qualify for the
1986–87 UEFA Cup. The last two placed teams in the NLA would be directly relegated to the NLB for the following season. The top two placed teams in the NLB would be promoted to the top tier. The last three teams in the NLB would be relegated to next season's 1. Liga. ==Nationalliga A==