FC Basel’s St Jakob-Park stadium has been damaged by a fire which destroyed the first-team dressing room.
SRF said the blaze engulfed the players’ kits and boots and also caused “significant damage” to the equipment rooms, coaching and team manager’s office, physio and shower facilities, and medical and technical equipment.
No-one was injured in the fire but its cause has not yet been clarified, according to a statement from the club.
FC Basel, who sit in fourth place in the Swiss Super League, were due to travel to table-toppers FC Thun on Saturday but the match was postponed
The club said in a statement, “The fire, accompanied by heavy smoke caused significant damage and completely destroyed the entire locker room area of the first team.
“Due to the damage incurred and no usable game and medical equipment available, the away game against FC Thun is not possible for FCB.”
Fussball Club Basel 1893, widely known as FC Basel, FCB, or just Basel, is a Swiss football club based in Basel, Switzerland, in the Canton of Basel-Stadt. Formed in 1893, the club has been Swiss national champions 20 times, Swiss Cup winners 13 times and Swiss League Cup winners once.
The 38,512-capacity St. Jakob-Park is a Swiss sports stadium in Basel. It is the largest football venue in Switzerland and home to FC Basel. ‘Joggeli’, as the venue is nicknamed by the locals, was originally built with a capacity of 33,433 seats.
St Jakob-Park hosted the 2016 Europa League final, in which Liverpool played Sevilla, and the final of the 2025 Women’s Euros between England and Spain.
SRF further stated that the atmosphere at the first training session after the fire was generally relaxed, but for some FCB players, the shock is still deeply felt.
Midfielder Dominik Schmid said, “It’s hard for outsiders to understand, but the locker room was like a second home for us.”
The players were in the locker room almost every day. And many had personal belongings there. Whether these can be salvaged is currently still uncertain.
Schmid hopes that they can: “I had my shin guards with family photos on them. I’ve worn them since I became a professional.”
That’s for a good ten years. In addition, there are over 25 pairs of shoes. Other players have had similar experiences, missing personal belongings after the fire.
The fire broke out on Saturday in the basement of St. Jakob-Park, presumably in the sauna area. The cause remains unclear.
According to the Basel public prosecutor’s office, the investigation is very complex and time-consuming. It is therefore likely to take some time.
FC Basel estimates the damage to be considerable, likely running into the millions. Around twenty rooms of the stadium were affected.
This includes not only football boots and the players’ personal belongings, but also jerseys and training kits, GPS trackers, evaluation devices, laptops, and video analysis equipment.
FC Basel is confident that matches can soon be played again at St. Jakob-Park. Spokesperson Simon Walter currently expects the next home game to take place at the Joggeli on April 26.
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