2008–09 Cypriot First Division


The 2008–09 Cypriot First Division was the seventy season of top-tier football on Cyprus. It started on 30 August 2008 and ended on 10 May 2009. The defending champions were Anorthosis.
APOEL won the championship three matchweeks before the end of the season.
This year, for the second time, the championship also featured a group stage play-off system. Teams were divided into 3 groups: 1st–4th, 5th–8th and 9th–12th. Points from the main part of the season still counted.

Format

Fourteen teams participated in the 2008–09 Cypriot First Division. Each team played against every other team twice, once at home and once away, for a total of 26 matches. After these matches, the two teams with the worst records were relegated to the 2009–10 Cypriot Second Division. The remaining twelve teams were divided into three groups: 1st-4th, 5th-8th and 9th-12th.
The teams ranked first through fourth played out the champion and the participants for the European competitions. Teams ranked ninth through 12th determined the third relegated club, while the remaining four teams played a placement round. Every team played twice against its group opponents. Regular season records are carried over without any modifications.
The champions ensured their participation in the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League and the runners-up and the third team in the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League.

Point system

Teams received three points for a win, one point for a draw and zero points for a loss.

Stadia and locations

TeamStadium
AEK LarnacaGSZ Stadium
AEL LimassolTsirion Stadium
AEP PaphosPafiako Stadium
Alki LarnacaAmmochostos Stadium
Anorthosis FamagustaAntonis Papadopoulos Stadium
APEPTsirion Stadium
APOELGSP Stadium
Apollon LimassolTsirion Stadium
APOP KinyrasPeyia Municipal Stadium
Atromitos YeroskipouPafiako Stadium
Doxa KatokopiasMakario Stadium
Ethnikos AchnaDasaki Stadium
ENPParalimni Stadium
OmoniaGSP Stadium

Promotion and relegation

Teams promoted from 2007-08 Cypriot Second Division:
Teams relegated to 2008–09 Cypriot Second Division :

Managerial changes

First round

League table

Results

Second round

Group A

Table

Results

Group B

Table

Results

Group C

Table

Results

Top goalscorers

Source: soccerway.com
RankPlayerClubGoals
1 SerjãoDoxa24
2 Gastón SangoyApollon22
3 Ferydoon ZandiAlki12
4 Yiasoumis YiasoumiEthnikos11
4 Marcin ŻewłakowAPOEL11
6 Demetris ChristofiOmonia10
6 GelsonAPEP10
6 Łukasz SosinAnorthosis10
6 Bernardo VasconcelosAPOP10
10 Haruna BabangidaApollon9
10 Fangio BuyseAPOP9
10 Kyriacos ChailisAEP9
10 Ioannis OkkasOmonia9

Season statistics

Scoring