The 2008–09

Liga Leumit Liga Leumit ( he, ליגה לאומית, lit. ''National League'') is the second division of the Israeli Football League, and below its Premier League. Structure There are 16 clubs in the league. At the end of each season, the two lowest-plac ...

season began on 29 August 2008 and ended on 29 May 2009. Two teams from

Liga Artzit Liga Artzit ( he, ליגה ארצית, lit. ''Country League'') is the defunct third division of Israeli Football League, beneath its highest division Premier League and the second division Liga Leumit. Before being cancelled in 2009, it was run ...

were promoted at the end of the previous season:

Hapoel Jerusalem Hapoel Jerusalem is a sport organization in Jerusalem as a local branch of the Hapoel movement. The branch was established in the 1920s and represents the city in more sports than any other sport organization in Jerusalem. Today, the club's leadi ...

and

Maccabi Ironi Kiryat Ata Maccabi Ironi Kiryat Ata ( he, מכבי עירוני קריית אתא) is an Israeli football club, located in Kiryat Ata. They play in Liga Alef and play at the Kiryat Ata Municipal Stadium. History The club was originally based in Acre and ...

along with two teams relegated from

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League ( he, ליגת העל, ''Ligat Ha`Al'', ), is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Israeli Football League – the state's league of Israel. The league is contested ...

Maccabi Herzliya Maccabi Herzliya F.C. ( he, מועדון כדורגל מכבי הרצליה, ''Moadon Kaduregel Maccabi Herzliya'') is an Israeli football club based in Herzliya. The club is currently in and plays at the Herzliya Municipal Stadium. History ...

and

Hapoel Kfar Saba Hapoel Kfar Saba F.C. ( he, מועדון כדורגל הפועל כפר סבא, ''Moadon Kaduregel Hapoel Kfar Saba'') is an Israeli football club based in Kfar Saba. The club competes in the Liga Leumit and plays home matches at Levita Stadiu ...

.
The two teams

relegated In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

to Liga Artzit were Hapoel Nazareth Illit and Hapoel Rishon LeZion. Due to an expected league expansion, at the end of the season five clubs were automatically promoted to the

, whilst the sixth-placed club in Liga Leumit played in a play-off match against the 11th-placed team in the Premier League. Only one team relegated automatically, and one team played in a play-off match against a team from

(which ceased to exist, with the regionalised

Liga Alef Liga Alef ( he, ליגה א', , League A) is the third tier of the Israeli football league system. It is divided into two regional divisions, north and south. History League football began in Israel in 1949–50, a year after the Israeli Decla ...

becoming the third tier).

Stadia

¹Currently undergoing construction work to convert it to a 5,000-seat stadium. In the meanwhile they play at the Nahariya Municipal Stadium.

League table

Positions by round

Results

The schedule consisted of three rounds. During first two rounds, each team played each other once home and away for a total of 22 matches. The pairings of the third round were then set according to the standings after first two rounds, giving every team a third game against each opponent for a total of 33 games per team.

First and second round

Third round

Key numbers for pairing determination (number marks position after 22 games):

Promotion/Relegation playoff

Promotion playoff

Maccabi Ahi Nazareth as the 6th-placed team faced the 11th-placed

team

Hakoah Ramat Gan Hakoah Maccabi Amidar Ramat Gan Football Club ( he, מועדון כדורגל הכח מכבי עמידר רמת גן) is an Israeli football club based in Ramat Gan. The club is currently in Liga Alef South division and plays at the Winter Stad ...

for a two-legged playoff. Maccabi Ahi Nazareth won both games and were promoted to the

. ----

Relegation playoff

Ironi Ramat HaSharon Hapoel Nir Ramat HaSharon Football Club ( he, מועדון כדורגל הפועל ניר רמת השרון) is an Israeli football club based in Ramat HaSharon. They are currently members of Liga Leumit and play their home matches at the Grun ...

as the 11th-placed team faced the 8th-placed

team Maccabi Kafr Kanna for a two-legged playoff,

won both games and will continue playing in

next season. ----

Season statistics

Scoring

*First goal of the season: Eran Levy for

Hapoel Haifa Hapoel Haifa Football Club ( he, מועדון הכדורגל הפועל חיפה, ''Moadon HaKaduregel Hapoel Haifa'') is an Israeli football club located in the city of Haifa. The club won one championship (1998–99) and 4 Israeli cups ( ...

against Hapoel Acre, 26th minute (29 August 2008) *Widest winning margin: 6 goals – Hapoel Acre 7–1

(22 May 2009) *Most goals in a match: 8 goals – Hapoel Acre 7–1

(22 May 2009)

Discipline

*First yellow card of the season: Muhamad Brik for Hapoel Acre against

, 3rd minute (29 August 2008) *First red card of the season: Bryan Gerzicich for Hapoel Acre against

, 36th minute (29 August 2008) *Most red cards in a single match: 3 – Hapoel Acre 2–1 Maccabi Ahi Nazareth - 3 for Maccabi Ahi Nazareth (Amjad Suliman, Yakir Shina &

Serge Ayeli Serge may refer to: *Serge (fabric), a type of twill fabric *Serge (llama) (born 2005), a llama in the Cirque Franco-Italien and internet meme *Serge (name), a masculine given name (includes a list of people with this name) *Serge (post), a hitchi ...

) (6 December 2008)

Top scorers

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2008-09 Liga Leumit Liga Leumit seasons

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

2008–09 in Israeli football leagues