2008–09 Liga Leumit
The 2008–09 Liga Leumit season began on 29 August 2008 and ended on 29 May 2009.
| Season | 2008–09 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Hapoel Haifa |
| Promoted | Hapoel Haifa Hapoel Acre Hapoel Be'er Sheva Hapoel Ramat Gan Amutat Hapoel Ra'anana Maccabi Ahi Nazareth |
| Relegated | Maccabi Ironi Kiryat Ata |
| Matches played | 198 |
| Goals scored | 457 (2.31 per match) |
← 2007–08 2009–10 → | |
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 (which ceased to exist, with the regionalised Liga Alef becoming the third tier).