The Community Shield is the traditional curtain-raiser to the English domestic season, but this year it is being staged elsewhere.

The Community Shield will not be played in England this season because Wembley Stadium is hosting a concert on the same day as the annual fixture.

This year’s Community Shield pits Premier League champions Arsenal against FA Cup winners Manchester City at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Sunday, August 16. With VIP ticket prices dropping, it appears the excitement around the game is not particularly high.

The match has been shifted from London to Wales because Wembley is staging the third of five straight shows by pop star The Weeknd on the same day, which means it will be held outside England for the first time since 2006.

Cat 2 Ticket - Man City End - £199 per person

These Cat 2 seating tickets are in the Manchester City end in the Middle Tier section M35, giving some of the finest views in the Principality Stadium. You also get access to the VIP bars and food outlets on the middle tier, so you can unwind before kick-off and at half-time, making it a really exciting Community Shield experience.

The Community Shield is the traditional curtain-raiser to the English domestic season and brings together the Premier League winners and the FA Cup holders on the weekend before the new campaign starts.

The match has been staged away from Wembley only twice since the stadium reopened in 2007, but it was played at the Principality Stadium for six straight years between 2001 and 2006 while the London venue was being rebuilt.

The last Community Shield in Cardiff saw FA Cup winners Liverpool defeat Premier League champions Chelsea 2-1 in August 2006, when Peter Crouch scored a late winner after Andriy Shevchenko had cancelled out John Arne Riise’s early goal.

Aside from the years when Wembley was being rebuilt, this will be only the third time since 1974 that the stadium has not hosted the fixture.

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The first was in 2012, when the Community Shield was played at Villa Park because the national stadium was one of the football venues for the London 2012 Olympics. City beat Chelsea 3-2 that day.

The other came four years ago in 2022, when Liverpool beat City 3-1 at Leicester City’s King Power Stadium because Wembley was hosting the 2022 Women’s European Championship final between England and Germany the following day.

Arsenal fans will have happy memories of the Principality Stadium, having watched their team win three FA Cup finals there when the ground was still known by its original name, the Millennium Stadium.

The Gunners beat Chelsea 2-0 in 2002 on their way to completing the Double, and then defeated Southampton 1-0 the next season.

Arsene Wenger’s side also got past Manchester United on penalties in 2005 after a 0-0 draw following extra-time.

Crystal Palace are the current Community Shield holders after following up their 2025 FA Cup win by beating Liverpool 3-2 in a shoot-out 12 months ago, after the match finished 2-2.

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