Soccer : Portugal : Bwin liga : Season 2008/2009
From the 2006-07 season on there are 16 clubs in the Portuguese Liga, down from 18 in the previous seasons. During the course of a season each club plays the others twice, once at their home stadium and once at their opponent's, for a total of 30 games. At the end of each season, the two lowest placed teams are relegated to the Liga de Honra, and the top two teams from Liga de Honra are promoted to the Portuguese Liga.
Currently, for the 2008-09 season, the top two teams in the Liga qualify for the UEFA Champions League. The Champion (first place finish) goes directly into the group phase of the competition, with the runner-up (second place finish) entering the competition at the third qualifying round, and must survive a two-legged knockout tie in order to enter the group phase. The teams classified in third, fourth and fifth enter the UEFA Cup together with the winner of the Cup of Portugal. If the winner of the Cup of Portugal is already qualified for the Champions League, or would be qualified for the UEFA Cup by its league position, the runner-up will occupy the spot in the UEFA Cup. If the runner-up is also qualified for European competition through its league position, the spot is given to the 6th-placed team in the Liga. The 6th-placed team is allowed to play in the UEFA Intertoto Cup, but when it plays in the UEFA Cup because of the situation above, then, the spot is taken by the 7th-placed team.
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