# 2008–09 I-League

The 2008–09 I-League season began on 26 September 2008 and finished on 16 April 2009 with a break in December for the Federation Cup and Durand Cup. Most games this season were played on Saturday's and Sunday's to attract larger crowds. After a successful first season for the I League, the second season featured 12 teams from four cities – again this would be expanded in the 2009–10 season to 14 teams.
The champion in the I-League qualified for the AFC Champions League 2010 qualifying playoffs in 2010, while the bottom two teams were relegated to I-League 2nd Division for the next season.

## Gallery

* Abhishek Yadav of Mumbai FC and Samir Naik of Dempo during I-League match at Fatorda Stadium Goa
* Sayed Rahim Nabi of East Bengal and Daniel of Chirag United during at 2008–09 I-League at Salt Lake Stadium
* I League Daniel of Chirag United takes a freekick against Mahindra United at Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata
* Wilton Gomes of Sporting Clube de Goa tackles Lester Fernandes of Vasco during I-League 2008-09 match at Fatorda Stadium Goa
* Baljit Saini of JCT against Dempo during I-League 2008-09 at Guru Nanak Stadium Ludhiana

## Teams

| Club | Manager | Location | Stadia |
| Air India | Bimal Ghosh | Mumbai | Cooperage Ground |
| Churchill Brothers | Karim Bencherifa | Goa | Jawaharlal Nehru – Fatorda Stadium |
| Dempo | Armando Colaco | Goa | Jawaharlal Nehru – Fatorda Stadium |
| East Bengal | Monoranjan Bhattacharya | Kolkata | Salt Lake Stadium |
| JCT | Sukhwinder Singh | New Delhi | Ambedkar Stadium |
| Mahindra United | Derrick Pereira | Mumbai | Cooperage Ground |
| Mohammedan Sporting | Shabbir Ali | Kolkata | Salt Lake Stadium |
| Mohun Bagan | Carlos Roberto Pereira Da Silva | Kolkata | Salt Lake Stadium |
| Sporting Goa | Clifford Chukwuma | Goa | Jawaharlal Nehru – Fatorda Stadium |
| Vasco | Subrata Bhattacharya | Goa | Jawaharlal Nehru – Fatorda Stadium |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Churchill Brothers | 22 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 53 | 23 | +30 | 46 | 2010 AFC Champions League Qualifying play-off |
| 2 | Mohun Bagan | 22 | 13 | 4 | 5 | 30 | 20 | +10 | 43 | |
| 3 | Sporting Goa | 22 | 13 | 4 | 5 | 28 | 20 | +8 | 43 | |
| 4 | Dempo | 22 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 35 | 26 | +9 | 31 | |
| 5 | Mahindra United | 22 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 28 | 22 | +6 | 31 | |
| 6 | East Bengal | 22 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 31 | 26 | +5 | 28 | 2010 AFC Cup group stage |
| 7 | Mumbai | 22 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 22 | 27 | −5 | 28 | |
| 8 | Chirag United | 22 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 20 | 26 | −6 | 26 | |
| 9 | JCT | 22 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 19 | 22 | −3 | 25 | |
| 10 | Air India | 22 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 21 | 26 | −5 | 24 | |
| 11 | Mohammedan Sporting | 22 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 31 | −14 | 22 | Relegation to 2010 I-League 2nd Division |
| 12 | Vasco (R) | 22 | 2 | 4 | 16 | 14 | 49 | −35 | 10 | Relegation to 2010 I-League 2nd Division |
* ↑ East Bengal qualified for the 2010 AFC Cup as 2009–10 Indian Federation Cup winners.

### Home and away season
#### Round 22
## Top scorers

    As of 23 March 2009
| Rank | Scorer | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Odafe Onyeka Okolie | Churchill Brothers | 24 |
| 2 | Jose Ramirez Barreto | Mohun Bagan | 10 |
| 2 | Felix Chimaokwu | Churchill Brothers | 10 |
| 4 | Sunil Chhetri | East Bengal | 9 |
| 4 | Ranty Martins Soleye | Dempo | 9 |
| 4 | Chidi Edeh | Mahindra United | 9 |
| 4 | Yusif Yakubu | East Bengal | 9 |
| 8 | Singam Subash Singh | Air India | 7 |
| 8 | Sushil Kumar Singh | Mahindra United | 7 |
| 8 | Kalia Kulothungan | Mumbai | 7 |
| 8 | Junior Obagbemiro | Sporting Goa | 7 |
| 12 | Baichung Bhutia | Mohun Bagan | 6 |
| 12 | Ogba Kalu Nnanna | Churchill Brothers | 6 |
| 12 | Joseph Pereira | Sporting Goa | 6 |