Community Shield moved out of England as FA confirm new host venue | Football | Sport
Next season’s Community Shield won’t be played at the home of English football (Image: GETTY)
Next season’s Community Shield will be moved away from Wembley and out of England altogether, it has been announced. The traditional curtain-raiser, which sees the Premier League champions go up against the FA Cup winners, is typically held on the weekend before the start of each new top-flight campaign. The match is usually played at Wembley but that won’t be the case when it returns later this year.
The Football Association (FA) have confirmed that the next edition of the Community Shield will be played at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. The governing body cited scheduling issues as the reason for the change. Wembley is not available on the selected dates because Canadian pop superstar The Weeknd is playing at the stadium as part of his After Hours Til Dawn Tour.
An FA statement read: “Due to alterations to the 2026-27 football calendar, next season’s Premier League will begin over the weekend of Saturday 22 August, and Wembley Stadium connected by EE is unavailable on Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 August due to pre-planned concerts.
“The Welsh national stadium has a rich history of hosting major football events, including the FA Community Shield on six occasions between 2001 and 2006, and it provides a neutral venue for the competing clubs as well as one of the largest capacities in the United Kingdom for fans to attend.
“Further details about the 2026 FA Community Shield, which sees the winner of the Emirates FA Cup take on the Premier League champions, will be announced at the earliest possible opportunity following the conclusion of the 2025-26 football season.”
EXPRESS SPORT ON FB! Get all the best sports news and much more on our Facebook page
Crystal Palace are the current holders of the Community Shield, having beaten last season’s Premier League champions Liverpool under the Wembley arch in August.
Fresh from their FA Cup triumph at the end of the 2024/25 campaign, they prevailed on penalties to lift their second trophy in four months.
The match will take place at the Principality Stadium in the Welsh city of Cardiff (Image: Getty)
Hugo Ekitike opened the scoring for Liverpool inside four minutes before Jean-Philippe Mateta equalised from the penalty spot.
Jeremie Frimpong restored the Reds’ advantage moments later but Ismaila Sarr scored a leveller for Palace in the closing stages.
Because there is no extra time in the Community Shield, the match went straight to penalties and the Eagles held their nerve to claim a historic victory.
It seems likely that at least one of Arsenal and Manchester City will be involved in the next edition of the fixture as they battle it out to be crowned champions of England.
The north Londoners currently lead Pep Guardiola‘ side by nine points, although they have played an extra game. Both teams also remain in contention to win the FA Cup.
Liverpool, Chelsea, West Ham United, Leeds United, Southampton and Port Vale are the other six teams left in the competition. The quarter-finals will be played on the first weekend in April.
In the event a team wins the domestic double, they will face the Premier League runners-up in the Community Shield.
