The Community Shield: What It Is And Why Is It Important

For some people, football is all about trophies. Many clubs can only dream about the prospect of bringing home a major trophy and adding it to a glittering cabinet; however, at the world's biggest football clubs, all managers and coaches are ultimately judged on whether they're able to deliver silverware, whether that means consecutive domestic titles or European trophy wins.

That being said, some trophies are seen as more important than others. Manchester City's 3-0 win in the League Cup final in 2017/18 may have been a proud achievement, but it paled in comparison to the significance of their famous 100-point "Centurions" Premier League campaign the same season. Fans place different value on different competitions — and one of the trophies that's on the lower end of the pecking order is the Community Shield.

In this article, we'll be giving you an in-depth guide to this trophy and its significance within the English game. We're going to explore the history of the competition, and explain why it's important in the modern day (as well as touching on the reasons why many people view it as less important than other trophies). Later on, we'll also take a brief look at which teams have been most successful in the Community Shield over the years.

What is the FA Community Shield?

To launch the new season at the end of each summer, with new signings getting settled and coaches making plans for the opening fixtures of the coming season, we get our first taste of what's to come: the Community Shield. Widely seen as the event that kicks off the new campaign, it's a significant event in the footballing calendar. But what is the community shield, and why does it happen?

Officially titled the Football Association Community Shield (and formerly known as the Charity Shield), the Community Shield is an annual match that takes place at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup (aka the team that won it the previous season). If the same team won both the Premier League and the FA Cup, they face up against the league runners-up in this match, which is recognised by the FA and UEFA as a competitive super cup.

This one-off match has an important purpose. As indicated in the inclusion of 'Community' and previously 'Charity' in the title, this FA-organised competition is designed to raise funds to be distributed to community initiatives and charities across the UK. The 124 clubs who competed in the FA Cup the previous season (from the first round onwards) all get a cut of the money received from ticket and programme sales for the match, and revenue from the game is also directed towards the FA's national charity partners. Currently, the Alzheimer's Society is the FA's official charity partner, but numerous organisations have benefited from the competition in years gone by. Which brings us to our next point… how long has this cup been running?

History of the Community Shield

The first ever Community Shield took place well over a century ago, in the 1908-09 season. Originally, it evolved from the Sheriff of London Charity Shield, which was launched in 1898 as a cup contested between professional players and amateurs that raised funds for hospitals and other charities. A restructuring in 1908 created the new format, which initially pitted the Football League First Division champions (the equivalent of the Premier League champions today) against the champions of the Southern League, a major division for amateur and semi-professional players. The first-ever Community Shield was played between First Division winners Manchester United and Southern League champions Queens Park Rangers, who eventually lost the replay (after a 1-1 draw) 4-0.

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Over the years, this cup has been tweaked and changed a fair bit. 1921 was the first year in which it was contested between the First Division champions and the FA Cup champions, and while the format then fluctuated between this structure and the previous amateurs vs professionals concept, organisers eventually landed on the format we have today. Other than a few notable exceptions, since 1930 the Community Shield has been played between the FA Cup winners and the winners of English football's top division.

There's been some precedent for teams refusing to take part in the cup. In 1972, league winners Derby County (managed by Brian Clough) and FA Cup winners Leeds United both refused to play in the game, so it was instead contested by fourth-placed Manchester City and Third Division champions Aston Villa. Back then, there was still confusion about who should play in the match if the same team won both trophies — this was cleared up in 1974, when then FA secretary Ted Croker created the current format and moved the match to Wembley Stadium.

When the Premier League was formed in 1992, the Charity Shield became a showcase match; however, just a decade later, the Charity Commission found that the FA had not met its legal obligations under charity law, by failing to provide specific details about what ticket revenue was being directed towards charity. It was at this point that the name of the event was changed the Community Shield, which remains its title to this day.

Is the Community Shield a Major Trophy?

You might've guessed from the fact that several teams have declined to take part in the game over the years that in the eyes of many, this isn't exactly a major event. Understandably, the Community Shield is seen as right down the pecking order when compared with the Premier League, the FA Cup, the League Cup, and any European trophies. Therefore, it is not recognised as a major trophy.

Instead, the competition is seen as a "competitive super cup". Ultimately, it cannot be considered to be a major trophy, because the definition of a "major trophy" is one in which competition is open to all teams from within a league system. As the Community Shield only features a couple of sides, usually from the Premier League, it doesn't fall into this bracket.

What Happens if a Team Wins The Community Shield

The current holders of the Community Shield are Liverpool (FA Cup winners in 2022). The Reds defeated Premier League winners Manchester City 3-1 in the 2022 match, with goals from Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah, and Darwin Nunez. They only needed 90 minutes to get the win, although it's worth mentioning that if two teams are drawing in the match when the final whistle is blown, the game goes straight to a penalty shootout.

Now, while this is a game that will pretty much always be taken seriously, with coaches generally playing the strongest XI they can, losing is also not seen as the end of the world — yes, individual players receive winners' medals, and there's a shield to lift up in celebration, but really, the Community Shield is seen by many as a glorified friendly.

That being said, kicking off your campaign with a Community Shield win at the start of the season is a healthy habit to get into. If you've got a trophy (albeit, not a major trophy) in the bag before the first league ball has even been kicked, you could be onto a winner. 

List Of Community Shield Winners By Year

Who has won the most Community Shields?

As we've already discussed, the Community Shield is only ever competed in by Premier League winners, Premier League runners-up, and FA Cup winners. Essentially, it's the cream of the crop in English football. Therefore, the number of sides that have competed in this game since its restructuring in 2002 is actually fairly small. A few teams have registered repeated success in the Community Shield — but there's one that sits at the top of the pile.

The record for the most victories in the Community Shield is held by Manchester United. The 13-time Premier League champions have won the super cup 21 times since its inception, and they've also appeared in it more than any other team (30 times). The ceremonial friendly may not have the status of other cup competitions, but as well as those wins, it's also provided Manchester United with some memorable moments, including Eric Cantona's first career hat-trick in 1992.

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Interestingly, since the Premier League was launched in 1992, only eight clubs have gone on to win the league title after triumphing in the Community Shield in the same season. The most recent team to accomplish this was Pep Guardiola's Manchester City, in the 2018-19 season. Given how seriously Guardiola seems to take the cup — in 2019, he said "In Spain and Germany it's important… Why play if it doesn't count?" — maybe we shouldn't be surprised by that. Certainly, the Blues will be hoping to make an appearance in this year's competition, as they continue chasing Arsenal for the 2022-23 Premier League title, while also preparing for an FA Cup semi-final clash against Championship high-flyers Sheffield United.

Want to find out more about exactly how English football is structured and organised? Good news — our Blog is packed with plenty of useful, informative content. A good place to start could be our comprehensive guide to the role of relegation in soccer.