The FDGB-Pokal (Freier Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund Pokal or Free German Trade Union Federation Cup) was an elimination football tournament held annually in the former East Germany. It was the second most important national title in East German football after the DDR-Oberliga championship. The founder of the competition was East Germany's major trade union.

The inaugural FDGB Pokal (generally referred to in English as the East German Cup) was contested in 1949, two years before the initial DFB-Pokal was played in the western half of the country. The first national cup competition had been the Tschammerpokal introduced in 1935.

Each football club which participated in the East German football league system was entitled to enter the tournament. Clubs from the lower leagues played in regional qualification rounds, with the winners joining the teams of the DDR-Oberliga and DDR-Liga in the main round of the tournament of the following year. Each elimination was determined by a single game held on the ground of one of the two participating teams.

Matthias Liebers (born 22 November 1958 in Leipzig) is a former German professional footballer.

He began his youth career with Lokomotive Leipzig in 1965, and was promoted to the senior squad in 1968, where he played in the DDR-Oberliga at the top level of the East German football league. He played 321 games for the club, scoring 37 goals.

After the German reunification 1. FC Lokomotive was renamed to VfB Leipzig. The midfielder played 25 Bundesliga games with VfB in 1993–94, and 74 2nd Bundesliga games between 1991 and 1996.

Between 1980 and 1988 he played 59 times for East Germany, making him the 12th most-capped player. He competed for East Germany at the 1980 Summer Olympics.

He spent the final years of his career with FC Grün-Weiß Wolfen (1996–97), FV Zeulenroda (1997–98) and finally with SV Blau-Weiß 90 Neustadt

In the 2004–05 season, he played two games for the reformed Lokomotive Leipzig in the 3rd District League, scoring one goal.

Joachim Streich (born April 13, 1951 in Wismar) is a former East German footballer, who won the bronze medal with East Germany at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich.

He played as a striker for Aufbau Wismar (1957 - 1963), then TSG Wismar (1963 - 1967), Hansa Rostock (1967 - 1975) and 1. FC Magdeburg (1975 - 1985).

Between 1969 and 1984 he was capped 102 times for East Germany, scoring 53 goals. For a long time he was considered a member of the FIFA Century Club, but when FIFA changed regulations to no longer include games at the Olympic Games, four of his matches were deleted from his official FIFA record and he dropped out. The German Football Association still lists Streich with 102 caps on his website.

Streich is regarded as one of the best players for East Germany and holds both the records for most appearances and goals scored in the national team. Streich took part in the 1974 FIFA World Cup, scoring 2 goals in 4 matches.

During his career he played 378 games in the DDR-Oberliga for FC Hansa Rostock and 1. FC Magdeburg, scoring a record 229 goals. This tally earned him the top scorer award four times. He also scored 17 goals in 42 European matches for Rostock (4/0) and Magdeburg (38/17). In 1979 and 1983 he won the East German Footballer of the Year award.