The 2008–09 Qatar Stars League or Q-League season was the 36th edition of top level football in Qatar and started on the 13 September 2008.
The season was played in 3 stages:
The 2008–09 calendar released by the QFA saw the first phase run through 13 September till 23 November before phase two kicked off on 27 November to end on 7 February 2009. The final phase started on February 12 and concluded on April 17.
Ten teams played for the title of league champions with each outfit playing 27 matches. The last team in the standings was to be relegated until the QFA announced an expansion to the league for the following season.
Al-Gharafa won the title last season after pipping powerhouse Al-Sadd into second place while Al-Shamal were relegated and their place in the top division will now be taken up by Al-Kharaitiyat.
League Expansion
The Qatar Stars League has slowly expanded since the turn of the decade, moving from 9 clubs to 10 clubs and then latest setup of 12 clubs for the 2009–10 Qatari League campaign.
There are 2 divisions in the Qatari football structure and the league has previously seen one club promoted and relegated each year except in 'expansion' years.
It was announced on 15 April 2009 that no clubs would be relegated from the top flight in the Qatari League 2008-09 season, due to expansion reasons. The announcement was made with only one game remaining.[1]
