Qatar Stars League slowly expanded since the turn of the decade, moving from 9 to 10 clubs and then latest setup of 12 clubs for this season campaign. There are 2 divisions in the Qatari football structure and the league has previously seen one club promoted and relegated each year except in 'expansion' years. It was announced on 15 April 2009 that no clubs would be relegated from the top flight in the
last season, due to expansion reasons. The announcement was made with only one game remaining. The expansion benefitted relegated
Al Kharaitiyat, who would stay in the first division, and would be joined by two second division clubs
Al Ahli and
Al-Shamal, bringing the number up to 12. Sheikh
Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani said the expansion would help in improving league action, which was also curtailed to two rounds instead of the prevailing system where the teams played each other three times. ==Teams==