The 2009–10 Liga Leumit was the 11th season since it became the second-tier in 1999 and the 68th season of second-tier football in Israel. It began on 21 August 2009 and ended on 15 May 2010.
Changes from 2008–09 season
Structure changes
League size has been increased from twelve to sixteen teams for this season, teams will thus play a home-and-away round-robin schedule for a total of 30 matches.
After the conclusion of this "regular season", teams will be split up into three playoff groups according to their league position. Points earned during the season will be halved and taken over to the respective playoff group. The best six teams will compete for the promotion spots. Clubs ranked 7th through 10th will engage in a placement round, while the bottom six teams will play out two relegation spots.
Source: Israel Football Association Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd goal difference; 3rd matches won; 4th goals scored; 5th head-to-head; 6th decision match. Notes:
^ abHapoel Kfar Saba received a technical loss of 3–0 to Ironi Rishon LeZion for fielding an ineligible player. The original game was finished in a 0–0 draw.
^ abHapoel Ashkelon received a technical loss of 3–0 to Ironi Ramat HaSharon for fielding an ineligible player. The original game was finished in a 0–2 win for Hapoel Ashkelon.
^ abMaccabi Be'er Sheva received a technical loss of 3–0 to Ahva Arraba for fielding an ineligible player. The original game was finished in a 1–1 draw.
^Ahva Arraba were deducted one point for editing double contracts with several players.
Source: Israel Football Association Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win. Notes:
^Maccabi Be'er Sheva received a technical loss of 3–0 to Ahva Arraba for fielding an ineligible player. The original game was finished in a 1–1 draw.
^Hapoel Kfar Saba received a technical loss of 3–0 to Hapoel Rishon LeZion for fielding an ineligible player. The original game was finished in a 0–0 draw.
^Hapoel Ashkelon received a technical loss of 3–0 to Ironi Ramat HaSharon for fielding an ineligible player. The original game was finished in a 0–2 win for Hapoel Ashkelon.
Playoffs
Key numbers for pairing determination (number marks position after 30 games):
Rounds
31st
32nd
33rd
34th
35th
1 – 6 2 – 5 3 – 4
1 – 2 5 – 3 6 – 4
2 – 6 3 – 1 4 – 5
1 – 4 2 – 3 6 – 5
3 – 6 4 – 2 5 – 1
07 – 10 8 – 9
7 – 8 10 – 90
08 – 10 9 – 7
0 0
0 0
11 – 16 12 – 15 13 – 14
11 – 12 15 – 13 16 – 14
12 – 16 13 – 11 14 – 15
11 – 14 12 – 13 16 – 15
13 – 16 14 – 12 15 – 11
Top Playoff
The points obtained during the regular season were halved (and rounded up) before the start of the playoff. Thus, Ironi Kiryat Shmona started with 31 points, Hapoel Kfar Saba with 26, Sektzia Nes Tziona with 24, Ironi Ramat HaSharon with 23, Ironi Bat Yam with 23 and Hapoel Ashkelon started with 22.
The points obtained during the regular season were halved (and rounded up) before the start of the playoff. Thus, Hapoel Nazareth Illit started with 22 points, Ahva Arraba with 22, Hapoel Rishon LeZion with 20 and Maccabi Herzliya started with 20.
The points obtained during the regular season were halved (and rounded up) before the start of the playoff. Thus, Hapoel Bnei Lod started with 20 points, Hakoah Ramat Gan with 19, Maccabi Be'er Sheva with 18, Beitar Shimshon Tel Aviv with 17, Hapoel Jerusalem with 12 and Hapoel Marmorek started with 7.
The 3rd-placed team Hapoel Kfar Saba faced the 14th-placed Israeli Premier League team Hapoel Ramat Gan. The winner Hapoel Ramat Gan earned a spot in the 2010–11 Israeli Premier League. The match took place on 22 May 2010.
The 14th-placed team Maccabi Be'er Sheva faced the Liga Alef promotion playoff winner Maccabi HaShikma Ramat Hen.[1] The winner Maccabi Be'er Sheva earned a spot in the 2010–11 Liga Leumit. The match took place on 31 May 2010.
