Community Shield moved to Wales due to pre-planned concert
Community Shield moved to Wales due to pre-planned concert The 2026 FA Community Shield has been moved from Wembley Stadium to the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, as Wembley is unavailable on the relevant weekend. Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images The FA have confirmed that the 2026 Community Shield will be played at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Sunday, August 16th. The statement explains that Wembley Stadium is unavailable on Saturday, August 15th or Sunday, August 16th due to pre-planned concerts.
The Weeknd will be performing at the ground on both days. As a result, the game will return to Cardiff for the first time since 2006. The FA add that further details about the game will be announced as soon as possible once the teams involved are known – at the end of this season.
Photo by Stu Forster /Allsport If Arsenal win the Premier League or the FA Cup, they’ll be involved in the Community Shield, with the Gunners currently nine points clear at the top of the league and in the quarter-finals of the cup. Second place in the Premier League might also qualify Arsenal for the Community Shield, if Manchester City win the Premier League and the FA Cup. Given City remain in the FA Cup and the Gunners are 15 points clear of the Premier League’s third-place team with seven matches remaining, there’s a good likelihood that Arsenal will either win the league, win the cup, or finish second and see City win the cup.
Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images If Arsenal and City both mathematically guarantee a finish above third place and face each other in the FA Cup final, we’ll know both will be involved in the Community Shield regardless of the eventual outcome in the two competitions. The FA Cup semi-finals take place on the weekend of Saturday, April 25th, so that’s the earliest such a scenario could be guaranteed. But there’s still a long way to go to reach that scenario, and at this point it’s still mathematically possible for any of Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Aston Villa, Liverpool, Chelsea, Port Vale, Southampton, West Ham United, or Leeds United to be involved.