2008–09 Liga Leumit


The 2008–09 Liga Leumit season began on 29 August 2008, and ended on 29 May 2009.
Two teams from Liga Artzit were promoted at the end of the previous season: Hapoel Jerusalem and Maccabi Ironi Kiryat Ata along with two teams relegated from Israeli Premier League: Maccabi Herzliya and Hapoel Kfar Saba.
The two teams relegated 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 Israeli Premier League, 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 Liga Artzit.

Stadia

ClubStadiumCapacity
Hapoel JerusalemTeddy Stadium21,600
Hapoel HaifaKiryat Eliezer Stadium14,002
Hapoel Be'er ShevaVasermil Stadium13,000
Maccabi HerzliyaHerzliya Municipal Stadium8,100
Hapoel Ramat GanHaMakhtesh Stadium5,500
Hapoel Kfar SabaLevita Stadium5,800
Hapoel AcreNapoleon Stadium5,0001
Maccabi Ahi NazarethIlut Stadium4,932
Hapoel Ra'ananaKarnei Oren Memorial Field2,500
Hapoel Bnei LodLod Municipal Stadium2,000
Ironi Ramat HaSharonYankela Grundman Stadium2,200
Maccabi Kiryat AtaKiryat Ata Municipal Stadium726

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 :

Promotion/Relegation playoff

Promotion playoff

as the 6th-placed team faced the 11th-placed Israeli Premier League team Hakoah Ramat Gan for a two-legged playoff. Maccabi Ahi Nazareth won both games and were promoted to the Israeli Premier League.
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Relegation playoff

as the 11th-placed team faced the 8th-placed Liga Artzit team Maccabi Kafr Kanna for a two-legged playoff, Ironi Ramat HaSharon won both games and will continue playing in Liga Leumit next season.
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Season statistics

Scoring