2008–09 IFA Championship
| Champions | Portadown |
|---|---|
| Promoted | Portadown |
| Relegated | Tobermore United Dergview Killymoon Rangers |
| Matches played | 272 |
| Goals scored | 886 (3.26 per match) |
← 2007–08 2009–10 → | |
The 2008–09
Portadown were the champions, achieving promotion back to the top flight after only one season of absence. Donegal Celtic finished as runners-up but lost out on promotion as they were defeated on the away goals rule by Dungannon Swifts, when the Promotion/relegation play-off finished 2–2 on aggregate.
The bottom 3 clubs (Tobermore United, Dergview and Killymoon Rangers) were relegated to the newly introduced Championship 2 for next season.
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portadown (C, P) | 32 | 25 | 2 | 5 | 88 | 23 | +65 | 77 | Promotion to IFA Premiership |
| 2 | Donegal Celtic | 32 | 24 | 1 | 7 | 65 | 27 | +38 | 73 | Qualification to promotion play-off |
| 3 | Loughgall | 32 | 22 | 4 | 6 | 77 | 29 | +48 | 70 | |
| 4 | Ards | 32 | 20 | 5 | 7 | 53 | 26 | +27 | 65 | |
| 5 | Ballinamallard United | 32 | 19 | 6 | 7 | 73 | 47 | +26 | 63 | |
| 6 | Coagh United | 32 | 19 | 4 | 9 | 60 | 43 | +17 | 61 | |
| 7 | Banbridge Town | 32 | 15 | 5 | 12 | 66 | 67 | −1 | 50 | |
| 8 | Ballymoney United | 32 | 12 | 7 | 13 | 41 | 35 | +6 | 43 | |
| 9 | Larne | 32 | 12 | 7 | 13 | 53 | 56 | −3 | 43 | |
| 10 | Carrick Rangers | 32 | 12 | 6 | 14 | 56 | 53 | +3 | 42 | |
| 11 | Glebe Rangers | 32 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 37 | 56 | −19 | 34 | |
| 12 | Armagh City | 32 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 39 | 61 | −22 | 32 | |
| 13 | Limavady United | 32 | 9 | 3 | 20 | 46 | 72 | −26 | 30 | |
| 14 | Ballyclare Comrades | 32 | 8 | 6 | 18 | 34 | 62 | −28 | 30 | |
| 15 | Tobermore United (R) | 32 | 7 | 5 | 20 | 34 | 64 | −30 | 26 | Relegation to IFA Championship 2 |
| 16 | Dergview (R) | 32 | 6 | 1 | 25 | 31 | 84 | −53 | 19 | |
| 17 | Killymoon Rangers (R) | 32 | 4 | 5 | 23 | 33 | 81 | −48 | 17 |
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd goal difference; 3rd goals scored; 4th head-to-head points; 5th head-to-head goal difference
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Interim Intermediate League
From next season, the IFA Championship would consist of two divisions, Championships 1 and 2. The
10 of the 12 clubs managed to meet the criteria, along with