All you need to know about the traditional curtain-raiser to the top-flight season

The prelude to the 2026/27 Premier League season takes place on Sunday 16 August as Arsenal and Manchester City lock horns in the 2026 FA Community Shield.

Here is all you need to know about the fixture:

What is the Community Shield?

The Community Shield was founded in 1908, and is an annual match contested between the Premier League champions and the winners of the FA Cup. If the same team wins both trophies, then the Premier League runners’ up faces the title winners.

The 2025 FA Cup victors Crystal Palace are the current holders, having defeated 2024/25 Premier League champions Liverpool last August, winning 3-2 on penalties after a 2-2 draw in regulation time.

Who is playing in the Community Shield this year?

This year, Premier League champions Arsenal take on Man City, who defeated Chelsea in the FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium in May to win the trophy for the eighth time in their history.

It’ll mark the first meeting between last season’s title rivals since City’s 2-1 Premier League win over Arsenal in April.

The last time the two teams faced off in cup competition, City emerged victorious in the 2026 EFL Cup final. A second-half double from Nico O’Reilly saw the Manchester giants claim a 2-0 win over Arsenal.

The clubs last faced each other in the Community Shield in 2023, with Arsenal winning 4-1 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in normal time.

What do the winners get?

The winning side claim the first major piece of domestic silverware of the season. Rather than handed a trophy per se, the winner of the Community Shield is presented with a “shield”.

The base is fitted with individually engraved plates that feature the names of past winners and the years they won.

Does it impact the clubs’ seasons?

Community Shield success should set a team up for a successful campaign, right? Well, not necessarily.

History suggests that winning the Community Shield can be more of a curse rather than a blessing.

Only once in the last 16 years have a team gone on to claim a Community Shield and Premier League double, Man City achieving the feat in 2018/19.

Remarkably, it has only been done eight times since the Premier League’s inception in 1992.

Teams to win the Community Shield and Premier League in the same season

Teams
Season

Man Utd
1993/94

Man Utd
1996/97

Chelsea
2005/06

Man Utd
2007/08

Man Utd
2008/09

Chelsea
2009/10

Man Utd
2010/11

Man City
2018/19

Furthermore, the losing team in the Community Shield have gone on to claim the Premier League title more times (10) than the winner (eight) since 1992.

Why is this year’s Community Shield being played in Cardiff?

Since 1974, the Community Shield had been played at Wembley rather than a number of guest venues across the country, as was the case in earlier editions.

Between 2001 and 2006, the game was switched to the Principality Stadium, formerly known as the Millennium Stadium, in Cardiff as Wembley underwent renovations.

And only twice since 2007 has the match been played away from Wembley. In 2012, Villa Park, home of Aston Villa, hosted the Community Shield contest between Man City and Chelsea due to the Olympic Games held in London.

And in 2022, Wembley hosted the Women’s European Championship final, meaning the clash between Man City and Liverpool took place at Leicester City’s home ground, the King Power Stadium.

For the first time in 20 years, the Community Shield will be contested in Cardiff.

That’s because of music artist The Weeknd’s “After Hours Til Dawn” tour taking place on the same day at the stadium, which means the Community Shield will be played away from Wembley for only the third time since it reopened in 2007.

Community Shield’s most successful teams

Team
Community Shield wins

Man Utd
21

Arsenal
17

Liverpool
16

Everton
9

Man City, Spurs
7

Chelsea, Wolves
4