FA Community Shield

English football's traditional season opener, contested since 1908 between the reigning Premier League champions and the FA Cup holders. Manchester United lead the roll of honour with 21 Shields.

The FA Community Shield is English football's traditional curtain-raiser, a single showpiece match that opens each new season by pitting the reigning Premier League champions against the holders of the FA Cup. It was first played in 1908 as the FA Charity Shield, conceived as a meeting between the champions of the Football League and the Southern League, and was renamed the Community Shield in 2002 to reflect the charitable and grassroots causes the fixture supports. Proceeds from the match still go to community football projects across England. The format is deliberately simple. One 90-minute game, no extra time, and a penalty shoot-out if the sides cannot be separated. Wembley Stadium is the traditional home of the fixture, though it has been staged elsewhere when Wembley has been unavailable. If a single club wins both the league and the FA Cup in the same season, the Premier League runners-up take the vacant place, so the Shield is almost always a meeting of two of the country's strongest squads and the first competitive look at their summer signings. Manchester United are the most decorated side in the competition's history with 21 Shields, ahead of Liverpool, while Arsenal, Everton, Manchester City, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur have all lifted the trophy on multiple occasions. Arsenal are the current holders, having beaten Manchester City 3-0 in August 2026 through goals from Riccardo Calafiori, Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard. A year earlier Crystal Palace stunned Liverpool on penalties, proof that the Shield can still throw up a genuine upset. OneLightScore carries the FA Community Shield with live scores, confirmed fixtures, full-time results, past winners and where-to-watch guidance, so you can follow the first trophy of the English season from kick-off to the final whistle.