FA Community Shield

Lore & Background

The Community Shield evolved from the Sheriff of London Charity Shield, introduced in 1898, which was originally contested between teams of professionals and amateurs, reflecting the 'gentlemen and players' tradition. The Football Association Charity Shield, as it was then known, was created to replace the Sheriff of London Charity Shield after leading amateur clubs became estranged from the FA. The inaugural match in 1908 was played between Manchester United, the Football League First Division champions, and Queens Park Rangers, the Southern League champions.

After a 1–1 draw in the first game, United won 4–0 in the replay, marking the only occasion the Shield required a second leg. Both matches were played at Stamford Bridge. The format of the competition varied in its early years. In 1913 it featured Amateurs versus Professionals XIs, and in 1921 the Shield was first contested between the Football League and FA Cup winners, after the Southern League was absorbed into the English football league system.

Throughout the 1920s the fixture often continued the amateur versus professional theme, including the 1927 match between Cardiff City as FA Cup holders and the Corinthians representing the amateurs. In 1930 the competition settled into its now-familiar format of pitting the league champions against the FA Cup winners, with few exceptions. Notable deviations include the 1950 Shield between the England national team and an FA team returning from a tour of Canada, and the 1961 fixture where double-winning Tottenham Hotspur played a Football Association XI.

The match has been held at the start of the season since 1959. Situations where one club won both the league and FA Cup created inconsistencies in opposition. In 1971, Arsenal declined to participate due to prior commitments, so Leicester City, as Second Division champions, faced FA Cup runners-up Liverpool and won the trophy, despite having never previously won the League or FA Cup. In 1972 and 1973, several clubs declined invitations, leading to irregular pairings such as Manchester City versus Aston Villa and Burnley.

In 1974, FA secretary Ted Croker formalised the modern format of league champions versus FA Cup winners, hosted annually at Wembley Stadium.

Reader's Guide

The rules of the Community Shield are generally the same as those of the Premier League, with a team of 11 starting players and 9 substitutes. However, unlike in most other competitions where only five substitutions are permitted, teams in the Community Shield are permitted up to six substitutions. If the scores are level after 90 minutes, the teams play a penalty shootout. If a team wins both the Premier League and the FA Cup, the runners-up from the Premier League will be the opposition.

Did You Know?

• The most successful teams in the competition are Manchester United (17 outright wins, 4 shared), Arsenal (16 outright wins, 1 shared), Liverpool (11 outright wins, 5 shared) and Everton (8 outright wins, 1 shared).
• Chelsea (2010, 2012, 2015, 2017 and 2018) and Newcastle United (1932, 1951, 1952, 1955 and 1996) share the joint-longest run of appearances without winning or sharing the trophy.
• The highest scoring game was Manchester United's 8–4 win against Swindon Town in 1911.
• Everton hold the record for most consecutive wins (4) from 1984 to 1987; however, the 1986 'win' was shared with Liverpool.
• Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Pat Jennings scored against Manchester United from his own penalty area in the 1967 Charity Shield, which was shared at 3–3.