2008–09 Qatar Stars League

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.

Q-League
Season2008–09
ChampionsAl-Gharrafa
2010 AFC Champions LeagueAl-Gharrafa
Al-Sadd
2010 AFC CupAl-Rayyan Sports Club
2009–10 Gulf Club Champions CupAl-Khor Sports Club
Qatar SC

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 Olaroiu April 2009

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
Source: RSSSF
 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
10 goals

References
  1. Q-League expands to 12 Archived 2009-05-02 at the Wayback Machine
  2. Laurant Bainde dismissed as Umm Salal Coach
  3. Jose Paolo dismissed as Al-Sailiya Coach
  4. Nebojsa Vukovic dismissed as Al Khuratiyat SC Coach
  5. Emerson Leao dismissed as Al Sadd Coach
  6. Zé Mário dismissed as Al Arabi Coach
  7. "Olaroiu named Al Sadd manager". Qatar Football Associasion. 2009-04-24. Retrieved 2009-04-24.
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