2008–09 Lebanese Premier League
# 2008–09 Lebanese Premier League

The 2008–09 Lebanese Premier League is the 48th season of Lebanon's football league. The league kicked off on October 11, 2008, Safa SC defeated Salam Zgharta at the opener. In that game, Mohammad Kassas scored the first goal of the season for Safa.

Al Ahed is the defending champion. Salam Zgharta and Shahab Al-Ghazieh promoted from the second division.

Prior to the start, Tripoli SC announced its withdrawal due to several problems. Lebanese Football Federation confirmed the withdrawal on October 9, the league is going to resume with 11 teams.

Due to the restructuring of Asian competitions, Lebanese teams were entered into the AFC Cup. The Arab Champions League on the other hand would not be played.

## Teams

Al-Irshad and Al-Ahli Sidon were relegated to the second level of Lebanese football after ending the 2007–08 season in the bottom two places. Promoted from the second level were Salam Zgharta and Shabab Al-Ghazieh.

### Stadia and Locations

| Club | City | Stadium |
| - | - | - |
| Al Ahed | Beirut | Municipal Stadium |
| Al Ansar | Beirut | Sports City |
| Nejmeh | Beirut | Sports City |
| Al Mabarrah | Beirut | Municipal Stadium |
| Safa Sporting Club | Beirut | Safa Stadium |
| Shabab Al-Sahel | Beirut | Municipal Stadium |
| Tripoli SC | Tripoli | Olympic Stadium |
| Tadamon Sour | Tyre | Sour Stadium |
| Racing Beirut | Beirut | Fouad Shehab Stadium |
| Hekmeh FC | Beirut | Fouad Shehab Stadium |
| Salam Zgharta | Zgharta | Zgharta Stadium |
| Shabab Al-Ghazieh | Sidon | Saida Municipal Stadium |

## Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Replaced by |
| - | - | - | - |
| Al Ansar | Roy Thomas | Sacked | Jamal Taha |

## Final standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Nejmeh | 20 | 16 | 2 | 2 | 44 | 14 | +30 | 50 | 2010 AFC Cup qualification |
| 2 | Al Ahed | 20 | 15 | 4 | 1 | 45 | 22 | +23 | 49 | 2010 AFC Cup qualification as cup winners |
| 3 | Safa SC | 20 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 35 | 15 | +20 | 40 | |
| 4 | Al-Ansar | 20 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 25 | 17 | +8 | 36 | |
| 5 | Shabab Al-Sahel | 20 | 7 | 9 | 4 | 29 | 26 | +3 | 30 | |
| 6 | Al-Mabarrah | 20 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 24 | 21 | +3 | 26 | |
| 7 | Racing Beirut | 20 | 5 | 4 | 11 | 19 | 25 | −6 | 19 | |
| 8 | Tadamon Sour | 20 | 4 | 3 | 13 | 20 | 37 | −17 | 15 | |
| 9 | Hekmeh FC | 20 | 3 | 5 | 12 | 14 | 30 | −16 | 14 | |
| 10 | Shabab Al-Ghazieh | 20 | 4 | 2 | 14 | 19 | 37 | −18 | 14 | |
| 11 | Salam Zgharta | 20 | 2 | 5 | 13 | 14 | 44 | −30 | 11 | Relegation to the Lebanese Second Division |
| 12 | Tripoli SC | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | — | 0 | Relegation to the Lebanese Second Division |

* ↑ Tripoli SC withdraw from the league. On October 14, 2008, the Lebanese Federation decided that Tripoli is going to relegate in the second league. Furthermore, the club was fined £L15 million for its withdrawal.

## Top scorers

| Rank | Name | Club | Goals |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Salih Sadir | Al-Ahed | 27 |
| 2 | Mohammad Kassas | Safa | 16 |
| 3 | Ahmad Jaradi | Shabab Al-Sahel | 8 |
| 4 | Ali Nasseredine | Nejmeh | 7 |
| 5 | Akram Moghrabi | Nejmeh | 6 |
| | Tomi Jyakomilli | Nejmeh | 6 |
| 6 | Zakaria Charara | Nejmeh | 5 |
