Why the Community Shield is not being played at Wembley this year

Arsenal take on Manchester City in the Community Shield on Sunday with the first piece of silverware of the season up for grabs.

But the traditional curtain-raiser will not be staged at Wembley, with the Principality Stadium in Cardiff hosting the game instead.

This is because The Weekend have booked Wembley from August 14 until August 19 as part of their ‘After Hours Til Dawn’ tour.

This means Arsenal face a trip of around 130 miles from London to Cardiff, while Manchester City will be making their own 140 mile journey from the North West.

The clash in the Welsh capital will be the third time the Community Shield has taken place away from Wembley since the national stadium reopened in 2007.

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Villa Park played host to Chelsea vs Manchester City in 2012 when Wembley was being used to host football at the Olympics.

And it was Leicester’s King Power Stadium that was chosen to host the 2022 edition between Manchester City and Liverpool, when Wembley was busy staging the Women’s European Championship final.

Principality is no stranger to hosting big games

The Principality Stadium, which was referred to as the Millennium Stadium at the time, was the venue for the FA Cup final and the Community Shield between 2001 and 2006 and for the League Cup final between 2001 and 2007.

Moving English football’s domestic cup finals to Cardiff was due to the old Wembley being demolished and the new Wembley being built in its place.

The stadium was also chosen to host the 2017 Champions League final between Real Madrid and Juventus, which the Spanish giants won 4-1.

Wales used the Millennium Stadium for their home games between 2000 and 2009, before moving the majority of their fixtures to the Cardiff City Stadium.

The Welsh rugby team, meanwhile, has continuously used the venue for its home games since the stadium opened in 1999.

The ground, which has a capacity of just under 74,000 and is the fourth-largest in the UK, will host six games at Euro 2028 including the opening match and a quarter-final.

It is also the only major multi-purpose stadium in the UK which has a fully retractable roof – although it will be open for the game on Sunday.

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