Arsenal and Manchester City meet today in the 2026 Community Shield, but the traditional curtain-raiser to the English top-flight season will not be played at Wembley Stadium for the first time in two decades.
The Gunners qualified by winning their first Premier League title in 22 years last season, while City return to the fixture after beating Chelsea 1-0 in the FA Cup final in May. The match also marks Enzo Maresca’s official return to the dugout after replacing Pep Guardiola as City head coach, seven months after his sudden exit from Chelsea.
His opposite number, Mikel Arteta, has more experience in Community Shield fixtures, having led Arsenal to penalty shoot-out victories over Liverpool and City in 2022 and 2023 respectively.
Why the venue changed
The 2026 edition moves because the new Premier League season has been delayed by one week, partly due to an expanded 48-team 2026 World Cup, meaning the dates no longer align for Wembley to host the match.
Canadian pop star The Weeknd has booked five nights at Wembley, between August 14 and 19, for his After Hours Til Dawn Tour. As a result, the Community Shield will instead be played at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, for the first time in two decades. Kick-off is at 3pm BST on Sunday August 16, 2026.
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.”
Principality Stadium history
The 73,931-capacity Principality Stadium, home of Welsh rugby and previously known as the Millennium Stadium, hosted five Community Shields in a row between 2001 and 2006, two of which were won by Arsenal. It was the home for all major English football finals between 2001 and 2006 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, and in 2012 it was taken to Villa Park because of the London Olympics.
