The Swiss Football Association (ASF/SFV) had 28 member clubs at this time and these were devided into two divisions of 14 teams each.
The teams played a double round-robin to decide their table positions.
The top tier (NLA) was contested by the top 12 teams from the previous 1972–73 season and the two newly promoted teams Xamax and Chênois.
The second and third placed teams were qualified for the 1974–75 UEFA Cup.
The second-tier (NLB) was contested by the two teams that had been relegated from the NLA, FC Grenchen and FC Fribourg, the teams that had been in third to twelfth position last season and the two newly promoted teams FC Nordstern Basel and FC Tössfeld.