The Maltese Premier League 2008–09 was the 94th season of the

Maltese Premier League The Maltese Premier League, known as 360Sports Malta Premier for sponsorship reasons with 360Sports (colloquialism, colloquially known as ''Il-Kampjonat Premjer''), is the highest level of professional football in Malta. Managed by the Malta Foot ...

, the top-tier

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

competition in Malta. It began on 23 August 2008 with a scoreless draw between

Floriana Floriana ( or ''Il-Floriana''), also known by its title Borgo Vilhena, is a Floriana Lines, fortified town in the Port Region, Malta, Port Region area of Malta, just outside the capital city Valletta. It has a population of 2,205 as of March 2014 ...

and Hamrun Spartans; and ended on 24 May 2009. The first goal in the season was scored by

Ivan Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was the B ...

, who played for

Qormi Qormi (, , ), also known by its title Città Pinto, is a city in the Southern Region, Malta, Southern Region of Malta, southwest of Valletta in the centre of the island. It has a population of 16,324 (as of March 2018), making it Malta's fifth-la ...

. Hibernians were crowned champions on 23 May 2009, surpassing rivals

Valletta Valletta ( ; , ) is the capital city of Malta and one of its 68 Local councils of Malta, council areas. Located between the Grand Harbour to the east and Marsamxett Harbour to the west, its population as of 2021 was 5,157. As Malta’s capital ...

by two points and winning their tenth title.

Teams

The following teams were promoted from the First Division at the start of the season: *

Tarxien Tarxien ( ) is a town in the Port region of Malta, seat of the Port Regional Council. Its population stood at 8,583 in March 2014. The town is most notable for the Tarxien Temples, a megalithic temple complex which is among the oldest freestan ...

From the previous Premier League season, the following teams were relegated to the First Division: * Mqabba * Pieta Hotspurs

Competition modus

In the First phase, every team played each opponent twice, once home and once away, for a total of 18 games. The league was then split in two pools. Earned points were halved. Teams that finished in positions 1–6 compete in the "Top Six" and teams finishing in positions 7–10 play in the "Play-Out".

First phase

League table

Results

Second phase

Top Six

Play-Out

Deciding game

Because Tarxien Rainbows, Msida Saint-Joseph and Hamrun Spartans were tied on points after all matches played, their head-to head results in Play-Out were decisive. Hamrun Spartans had the fewest points in those matches and were therefore immediately relegated. However, Tarxien Rainbows and Msida Saint-Joseph were equal on points in their two matches and they played a decision game to determine the second relegated team. The match was played on 8 May 2009 at

Hibernians Ground Tony Bezzina Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Paola, Malta. The Hibernians football ground was inaugurated on 9 November 1986. Hibernians became the first Maltese club to have their own football pitch. Nonetheless, Hibernians play most of thei ...

. However, in the wake of a corruption scandal, both Hamrun Spartans and Msida Saint-Joseph were returned to the Premier League.

Top goalscorers

References

External links

Premier League official page

{{DEFAULTSORT:2008-09 Maltese Premier League Maltese Premier League seasons Mal 1