Community Shield

The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is a one-off annual English club association football match contested between the Premier League Champions and the FA Cup winners at the national football stadium, Wembley Stadium in London. It is played as a season opening game between the previous season's league/cup winners (or the league runners up if the league champions won The Double of league and cup).The winners of the game receive the Shield as a trophy for the year, while players also receive individual winners medals. The current holders are Manchester United, who beat the 2009–10 season Double winners Chelsea 3–1 in normal time in the 2010 Community Shield held on 8 August 2010.

Organised by the Football Association, proceeds from the game are distributed to community-based initiatives and charities around the country. Revenue from the gate receipts and match programme sales is distributed to the 124 clubs who competed in The FA Cup from the First Round onwards, for onward distribution to charities and projects of their choice, while the remainder is distributed to the FA's national charity partners. The fixture is seen as a relatively minor honour and is treated almost as a pre-season friendly by many fans and clubs, used as a barometer of fitness levels and team tactics for the coming season. There is no extra time in the game, with draws after 90 minutes settled by penalty shootout; teams are allowed to use six substitutes instead of the normal three.

The fixture was first played in the 1908–09 season, replacing Sheriff of London Charity Shield. The game was initially played at various grounds in various teams, generally settling on the league champion versus FA Cup winner format from 1930, becoming a season opening game from 1954. The present format of a Wembley-based game between the league champions and FA Cup winners, or league runners-up, dates from 1974, being played at the current Wembley stadium since 2007. While the old Wembley Stadium was being demolished and rebuilt, the game was held at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.