Where is the Community Shield? Why Arsenal vs Man City is not being played at Wembley | OneFootball

English football’s annual top-flight curtain-raiser moving away from its traditional home in 2026

Arsenal and Manchester City go head to head today in a battle for the 2026 Community Shield.

The Gunners booked their place in English football’s annual top-flight season curtain-raiser by virtue of claiming a first Premier League title win in 22 years last term, while Man City are back in this famous fixture once again having beaten Chelsea 1-0 in the FA Cup final in May.

This showdown will also mark Enzo Maresca’s official return to the dugout after replacing Pep Guardiola as Man City head coach, seven months on from his sudden exit from Chelsea.

His opposite number, Mikel Arteta, has far more experience in Community Shield fixtures, leading Arsenal to victory on penalties over Liverpool and City, in 2022 and 2023 respectively.

However, the 2026 edition of the Community Shield will not be played at its traditional home at Wembley Stadium.

Where is the Community Shield?

As the start of the new Premier League season was delayed by one week, due in part to an expanded 48-team 2026 World Cup, the dates no longer align for Wembley Stadium to host the Community Shield.

Canadian pop star The Weeknd has booked five nights at Wembley, between August 14 and 19, for his After Hours Til Dawn Tour.

As such, this means the Community Shield will instead be played at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales for the first time in two decades.

An earlier statement from the Football Association (FA) confirmed: “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.”

Wembley Stadium had no events booked for last weekend, when the Community Shield would normally be held.

The 73,931-capacity Principality Stadium - home of Welsh rugby and previously known as the Millennium Stadium - hosted five Community Shields on the spin between 2001 and 2006, two of which were won by Arsenal.

It was the home for all major English football finals between 2001-06, while Wembley was being rebuilt.

The Community Shield was held at Leicester’s King Power Stadium in 2022 due to a clash with the women’s European Championship final, while in 2012 it was taken to Villa Park as a result of the London Olympics.