# FA Community Shield
**The FA Community Shield** is an annual one-off English football match, played since 1908, between the champions of the Premier League and the winners of the [FA Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/fa-cup), and it serves as the traditional 'curtain raiser' to the new season on the weekend before the Premier League begins.[1](https://www.premierleague.com/en/news/4688174/fa-community-shield-explained) • [2](https://www.thefa.com/news/2026/mar/23/fa-community-shield-2026-details-confirmed-20262303) It was known as the FA Charity Shield for most of its history and took its current name in 2002.[3](https://ukfootball.net/the-fa-community-shield/) The FA recognizes the fixture as a domestic 'super cup'.[4](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cdd3e7184lro)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1908, as the FA Charity Shield; renamed FA Community Shield in 2002[1](https://www.premierleague.com/en/news/4688174/fa-community-shield-explained) • [3](https://ukfootball.net/the-fa-community-shield/) |
| Format | Premier League champions v FA Cup winners; if one club wins both, the Premier League runners-up faces the title winners[1](https://www.premierleague.com/en/news/4688174/fa-community-shield-explained) |
| Timing | Played on the weekend before the Premier League season starts[2](https://www.thefa.com/news/2026/mar/23/fa-community-shield-2026-details-confirmed-20262303) |
| Deciding the winner | No extra time; if the scores are level, kicks from the penalty mark decide the winner[5](https://www.thefa.com/~/media/978792AF8BBE4927AA4583437A7DF882.ashx) |
| Usual venue | Wembley Stadium since 1974, with exceptions in 2012 (Villa Park) and 2022 (King Power Stadium)[6](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/competition/big-change-made-to-community-shield-plans-for-2026) |
| Current holders | Arsenal, who beat Manchester City 3-0 in the 2026 Shield at the Principality Stadium, Cardiff[1](https://www.premierleague.com/en/news/4688174/fa-community-shield-explained) |
| Community role | All proceeds go to community initiatives and charities, including the FA's official charity partner Alzheimer's Society[7](https://www.thefa.com/news/2025/aug/05/the-fa-community-shield-what-is-it-and-benefits-20250508) |
## Format and trophy
The match pits the reigning Premier League champions against the FA Cup holders.[8](https://www.thefa.com/-/media/thefacom-new/files/about-the-fa/2023/fa-csr-strategy-2023.ashx) When the same club wins both trophies, the Premier League runners-up takes the cup winners' place.[1](https://www.premierleague.com/en/news/4688174/fa-community-shield-explained) The winners claim the first major piece of domestic silverware of the season; instead of a conventional trophy, they are presented with a shield whose base carries individually engraved plates naming past winners and the years they won.[1](https://www.premierleague.com/en/news/4688174/fa-community-shield-explained)
Level scores are settled by penalties alone: under the competition rules, if the match ends level, extra time is not played and kicks from the penalty mark determine the winner.[5](https://www.thefa.com/~/media/978792AF8BBE4927AA4583437A7DF882.ashx) The 2025 edition followed this path, with Crystal Palace beating Liverpool 3-2 in a shoot-out after a 2-2 draw.[6](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/competition/big-change-made-to-community-shield-plans-for-2026)
## History
The competition was first played for in 1908 as the Charity Shield, created as a way to raise funds for charity, and it succeeded the earlier Sheriff of London (Dewar) Shield.[9](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c8e1pg8yg5yo) • [10](https://rsssf.org/tablese/engsupcuphist.html) The inaugural match was played at Stamford Bridge, and the early decades used a variety of formats and venues, including a First Division select XI against a Second Division select XI and England professionals against England amateurs.[9](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c8e1pg8yg5yo) • [6](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/competition/big-change-made-to-community-shield-plans-for-2026)
In 1974 the FA secretary Ted Croker proposed that the match be played at Wembley, and the stadium has been the regular venue since.[9](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c8e1pg8yg5yo) While the new Wembley was being rebuilt, the match was staged at Cardiff's Principality Stadium, then called the [Millennium Stadium](https://www.edgepedia.org/millennium-stadium), for six successive years between 2001 and 2006.[6](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/competition/big-change-made-to-community-shield-plans-for-2026) Since the rebuilt Wembley reopened in 2007, the fixture has been held away from it only twice before 2026: at [Villa Park](https://www.edgepedia.org/villa-park) in 2012, when Wembley hosted the London Olympic football final, and at Leicester's King Power Stadium in 2022, when Wembley staged the Women's Euro 2022 final.[6](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/competition/big-change-made-to-community-shield-plans-for-2026)
## Community benefit
All proceeds from the match are put back into community initiatives.[7](https://www.thefa.com/news/2025/aug/05/the-fa-community-shield-what-is-it-and-benefits-20250508) Funding supports football projects run by EFL in the [Community](https://www.edgepedia.org/community) across England, the FA's official charity partner [Alzheimer's Society](https://www.edgepedia.org/alzheimers-society), and community projects in the [London Borough of Brent](https://www.edgepedia.org/london-borough-of-brent), where Wembley stands.[7](https://www.thefa.com/news/2025/aug/05/the-fa-community-shield-what-is-it-and-benefits-20250508) The London-based food distribution charity The Felix Project also benefits, with 124,000 meals provided from the FA's funding.[9](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c8e1pg8yg5yo)
## The 2026 match in Cardiff
The 2026 FA Community Shield was played at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Sunday 16 August 2026, between the [2025-26 Premier League](https://www.edgepedia.org/2025-26-premier-league) champions Arsenal and the 2026 Emirates FA Cup winners Manchester City, with a 3pm BST kick-off broadcast live on TNT Sports 1 and [HBO Max](https://www.edgepedia.org/hbo-max).[2](https://www.thefa.com/news/2026/mar/23/fa-community-shield-2026-details-confirmed-20262303) • [11](https://www.thefa.com/news/2026/jun/04/2026-fa-community-shield) The move out of Wembley resulted from alterations to the 2026-27 calendar, which pushed the Premier League start to the weekend of Saturday 22 August, and from pre-planned concerts at Wembley on Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 August; the FourFourTwo report identifies these as the third of five successive shows on [The Weeknd](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-weeknd)'s 'After Hours Til Dawn' tour.[2](https://www.thefa.com/news/2026/mar/23/fa-community-shield-2026-details-confirmed-20262303) • [12](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/competition/why-the-community-shield-is-being-held-outside-of-england-for-the-first-time-in-20-years) It was the first time since 2006 that the fixture was played outside England, and only the third time since 1974 that Wembley did not host it.[12](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/competition/why-the-community-shield-is-being-held-outside-of-england-for-the-first-time-in-20-years)
The previous Shield in Cardiff, in August 2006, had seen FA Cup winners Liverpool beat Premier League champions Chelsea 2-1.[12](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/competition/why-the-community-shield-is-being-held-outside-of-england-for-the-first-time-in-20-years)
## Status and reception
The FA recognizes the Shield as a one-off competitive fixture and a domestic 'super cup' that captures the excitement of the new season.[4](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cdd3e7184lro) Its standing among fans is debated, and the Premier League's own explainer notes that history suggests winning it can be more of a curse than a blessing for the league campaign that follows.[1](https://www.premierleague.com/en/news/4688174/fa-community-shield-explained) For some clubs the trophy carries real weight: the 2025 win was only the second major trophy in Crystal Palace's history, following their 2025 FA Cup victory over the same opponents' path to the match.[13](https://www.lemonde.fr/sport/article/2025/08/10/tombeur-de-liverpool-crystal-palace-remporte-le-community-shield-et-un-deuxieme-trophee-majeur_6627962_3242.html)
## References
1. [FA Community Shield explained, Premier League](https://www.premierleague.com/en/news/4688174/fa-community-shield-explained)
2. [Venue and date details for the 2026 FA Community Shield have been confirmed, The FA](https://www.thefa.com/news/2026/mar/23/fa-community-shield-2026-details-confirmed-20262303)
3. [The FA Community Shield, UKFootball.net](https://ukfootball.net/the-fa-community-shield/)
4. [Is Community Shield considered a major trophy?, BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cdd3e7184lro)
5. [Rules of the Football Association Community Shield, The FA](https://www.thefa.com/~/media/978792AF8BBE4927AA4583437A7DF882.ashx)
6. [Big change made to Community Shield plans for 2026, FourFourTwo](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/competition/big-change-made-to-community-shield-plans-for-2026)
7. [What is the FA Community Shield and who does it benefit in 2025?, The FA](https://www.thefa.com/news/2025/aug/05/the-fa-community-shield-what-is-it-and-benefits-20250508)
8. [The Annual Football, The FA CSR Strategy 2023](https://www.thefa.com/-/media/thefacom-new/files/about-the-fa/2023/fa-csr-strategy-2023.ashx)
9. [Community Shield: Why is it no longer called the Charity Shield?, BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c8e1pg8yg5yo)
10. [England - List of FA Charity/Community Shield Matches, RSSSF](https://rsssf.org/tablese/engsupcuphist.html)
11. [Further details confirmed for the 2026 FA Community Shield, The FA](https://www.thefa.com/news/2026/jun/04/2026-fa-community-shield)
12. [Why the Community Shield is being held outside of England for the first time in 20 years, FourFourTwo](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/competition/why-the-community-shield-is-being-held-outside-of-england-for-the-first-time-in-20-years)
13. [Tombeur de Liverpool, Crystal Palace remporte le Community Shield, Le Monde](https://www.lemonde.fr/sport/article/2025/08/10/tombeur-de-liverpool-crystal-palace-remporte-le-community-shield-et-un-deuxieme-trophee-majeur_6627962_3242.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football competitions and records › Competitions and recurring events*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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