under allied occupation all organizations, including sports clubs and associations, were initially banned. however, within a year, sports-only organizations without political affiliation were permitted, and in the american, british and french occupation zones, most pre-war clubs were reconstituted. oberliga play resumed in 1945–46 on a regional basis in the south and south-west; berlin and the other regions followed and, in 1948, 1. fc nürnberg defeated 1. fc kaiserslautern 2–1 to become the first post-war national champions. at the time, there was no "prize" to play for. the viktoria trophy traditionally awarded to the nation's best side had gone missing in the chaos of post-war germany. in 1949, nürnberg and each winning side since vfb leipzig in 1903, would have their names engraved on the newly created meisterschale, nicknamed "the salad bowl" for its shape. the german cup competition introduced prior to the war also returned, with rot-weiss essen's 2–1 victory over alemannia aachen in 1953.