Edward Cetnarowski (3 October 1877 Rzeszow - 3 September 1933 Krakow) was a Polish sports official,

gynaecologist Gynaecology or gynecology (see spelling differences) is the area of medicine that involves the treatment of women's diseases, especially those of the reproductive organs. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, forming the combined ar ...

and one of the most famous personalities of the sports club Cracovia. Even though Cetnarowski was regarded as one of the top Polish gynecologists (he was an assistant to the famous doctor Henryk Jordan), he is most renowned as director of Cracovia, which in the 1920s and 1930s was one of the strongest sports clubs in Poland. During this time, Cracovia, in spite of financial crises shaking Poland, became a team known all over Europe. It was he who organized Cracovia's tournee to Spain in the mid-1920s. He cared for all sections, including soccer. Cetnarowski was co-founder of the

Polish Football Association The Polish Football Association ( pl, Polski Związek Piłki Nożnej; PZPN) is the governing body of association football in Poland. It organizes the Polish football leagues (without the Ekstraklasa), the Polish Cup and the Polish national fo ...

(PZPN), and in the years 1919-1928 was its official director, and after that the honorary director. However, when in 1927 most Polish soccer teams, against the will of the PZPN, decided to organize the Soccer League, he realized that he had lost and quit. Soon afterwards the seat of PZPN was moved from Kraków to

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is official ...

which indicated that Cetnarowski lost almost all influence. He had always been keen on preserving the amateur character of Polish soccer, and this attitude became old fashioned as time went by. Cetnarowski died suddenly, at the age of 55, during the game of Cracovia's female handball team. Most probably, heart failure together with excessive weight contributed to his death. The funeral was a big event in Kraków, thousands of mourners gathered to bid him final farewell.

External reference

Edward Cetnarowski in KS Cracovia online encyclopedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cetnarowski, Edward 1877 births 1933 deaths Polish obstetricians and gynaecologists Polish referees and umpires People from Rzeszów Sportspeople from Podkarpackie Voivodeship