The 2008–09 Qatari League or Q-League season was the 36th edition of top level football in Qatar and started on the 13 September 2008.
| Season | 2008–09 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Al-Gharrafa |
| 2010 AFC Champions League | Al-Gharrafa Al-Sadd |
| 2010 AFC Cup | Al-Rayyan Sports Club |
| 2009–10 Gulf Club Champions Cup | Al-Khor Sports Club Qatar SC |
← 2007–08 2009–10 → | |
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.
The competition will be played at the seven stadiums of Al-Sadd, Al-Rayyan Sports Club, Al-Gharrafa, Al Wakrah, Al Khor, Qatar Sports Club, and Al-Arabi Sports Club.
Al-Gharrafa 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 Khuratiyat SC.
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]
Members clubs
| Club | City/Town | Stadium | 2007-2008 season | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Gharrafa | Doha | Al-Gharafa Stadium | Q-League Champions | AFC Champions League 2009 Qualifier |
| Al-Sadd | Doha | Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium | 2nd in Q-League | |
| Umm-Salal Sports Club | Umm Salal | Thani bin Jassim Stadium | 3rd in Q-League | AFC Champions League 2009 Qualifier |
| Qatar Sports Club | Doha | Suhaim bin Hamad Stadium | 4th in Q-League | |
| Al-Rayyan Sports Club | Ar Rayyan | Ahmed bin Ali Stadium | 5th in Q-League | |
| Al-Arabi Sports Club | Doha | Grand Hamad Stadium | 6th in Q-League | |
| Al-Khor | Khor | Al-Khawr Stadium | 7th in Q-League | Gulf Club Champions Cup 2008 |
| Al-Sailiya Sport Club | Al Sailiya | Suhaim bin Hamad Stadium | 8th in Q-League | |
| Al Wakrah | Al Wakrah | Al-Wakrah Stadium | 9th in Q-League | |
| Al Khuratiyat SC | Al Khuraitiyat | Ahmed bin Ali Stadium | Promoted from 2nd level |
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Reason of departure | Replaced by | Date Replaced |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Arabi Sports Club |  Abel Braga | Replaced with more experienced coach | Zé Mário | July 2008 |
| Al Wakrah |  Adnan Dirjal | - |  Mustapha Madih | July 2008 |
| Al Khuratiyat SC |  Moscofetch Nebosja | Replaced with more experienced coach | Nebojsa Vuckovic | July 2008 |
| Al-Khor Sports Club |  Jean-Paul Rabier | End of contract | Bertrand Marchand | June 2008 |
| Umm-Salal Sports Club | Laurent Banide | Sacked after 7 games[2] | Gerard Gili | November 2008 |
| Al-Sailiya Sport Club | Jose Paolo | Sacked after 8 games[3] | Nebojsa Vukovic | November 2008 |
| Al Khuratiyat SC | Nebojsa Vukovic | Sacked after 8 games[4] | Bernard Simondi | November 2008 |
| Al-Sadd | Emerson Leao | Sacked after 9 games[5] |  Dzemaludin Musovic | November 2008 |
| Al-Arabi Sports Club | Zé Mário | Sacked [6] |  Uli Stielike | December 2008 |
| Al-Sailiya Sport Club | Nebojsa Vukovic | Sacked | Džemal Hadžiabdić | February 2009 |
| Al-Sailiya Sport Club | Dzemaludin Musovic | Short term contract.[7] |  Cosmin Olăroiu | April 2009 |
Foreign players
Final league table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Al-Gharrafa | 27 | 17 | 5 | 5 | 56 | 33 | +23 | 56 |
| 2 | Al-Sadd | 27 | 15 | 9 | 3 | 60 | 25 | +35 | 54 |
| 3 | Al-Rayyan Sports Club | 27 | 15 | 7 | 5 | 62 | 35 | +27 | 52 |
| 4 | Qatar Sports Club | 27 | 11 | 10 | 6 | 42 | 36 | +6 | 43 |
| 5 | Al-Khor | 27 | 9 | 13 | 5 | 38 | 28 | +10 | 40 |
| 6 | Umm-Salal Sports Club | 27 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 46 | 45 | +1 | 35 |
| 7 | Al-Arabi Sports Club | 27 | 8 | 5 | 14 | 37 | 51 | −14 | 29 |
| 8 | Al Wakrah | 27 | 8 | 3 | 16 | 32 | 56 | −24 | 27 |
| 9 | Al-Sailiya Sport Club | 27 | 5 | 5 | 17 | 31 | 58 | −27 | 20 |
| 10 | Al Khuratiyat SC | 27 | 3 | 6 | 18 | 19 | 59 | −40 | 15 |
| Qatari League 2008-09 winners |
|---|
| Al-Gharrafa 6th title |
Top scorers
- 25 goals
- 21 goals
- 20 goals
- 19 goals
- 15 goals
- 13 goals
- 11 goals
Pascal Feindouno (Al-Sadd)
Amad Al-Hosni (Al-Rayyan)
Sayed Mohamed Adnan (Al-Khor)
Jean-Emmanuel Effa Owona (Al-Sailiya)
- 10 goals