The Cup of the Rally of Young Leaders (also called the Young Leaders Rally Cup and the Cup of the Polish Youth Union) () was the first League Cup in Polish football. The tournament was created by the then president of the Polish Football Association with all 12 teams of the I liga being involved. Due to the league being delayed until after the 1952 Summer Olympics the tournament provided the players a chance to show off their skills with a chance of being called up into the Olympic squad. The tournament took place in Warsaw with the 12 teams being split into 2 groups of 6, with teams in each group playing each other twice. The tournament took its name from the youth rally that was taking place in the city from 20 to 22 July 1952.
The final took place on 20 July 1952 in the Polish Army Stadium. The final was between the winners of each group, Wawel Kraków and Cracovia, with Wawel winning the final. There were also playoffs for the 3rd and 5th places.
Group stage Group 1 Pos. Club Played Pts GF GA Notes 1Wawel Kraków 10 19 37 7 To play Cracovia in the final 2Wisła Kraków 10 11 17 12 To play AKS Chorzów in the 3rd place playoff 3Lechia Gdańsk 10 11 13 14 To play Lech Poznań in the 5th place playoff4Polonia Warsaw1091916Knocked out 5Polonia Bytom10510256Polonia Bytom105527
Group 2 Pos. Club Played Pts GF GA Notes 1Cracovia 10 16 22 14 To play Wawel Kraków in the final 2AKS Chorzów 10 14 20 9To play Wisła Kraków in the 3rd place playoff 3Lech Poznań 10 12 22 16 To play Lechia Gdańsk in the 5th place playoff4Legia Warsaw10101918Knocked out 5Górnik Radlin10711166ŁKS Łódź101930
Finals stage All finals took place in the Polish Army Stadium on 20 July 1952.
Fifth place playoff
Lech Poznań vs Lechia Gdańsk – 2:1 (2:1)
Third place playoff
Wisła Kraków vs AKS Chorzów – 2:1 (1:1)
Final
Final standings
1st: Wawel Kraków 2nd: Cracovia 3rd: Wisła Kraków 4th: AKS Chorzów 5th: Lech Poznań 6th: Lechia Gdańsk
References