The competition took place on July 20 through August 5, 1979 as part of the Spartakiad of Peoples of the USSR.

The competition took place during the mid-season break of the 1979 Soviet Union football championship.

Less than a week later after the tournament, an aircraft with Pakhtakor Tashkent players who were traveling to the away game against Dinamo Minsk crashed in the sky over Dniprodzerzhynsk.

Head coach: Konstantin Beskov (Spartak Moscow), assistant: Nikolai Starostin (Spartak Moscow) Head coach: Rivgat Bibayev (Alga Frunze), assistant: Anatoliy Kolmykov Whole squad was based on the senior team of FC Alga Frunze.

Head coach: Gennadi Bondarenko (Daugava Riga), assistant: Boris Reingold Head coach: Yozhef Betsa (Ararat Yerevan), assistant: Grachik Khachmanukyan Whole squad was based on the senior team of FC Ararat Yerevan.