England Community Shield

The Community Shield evolved from the Sheriff of London Charity Shield, introduced in 1898, which was originally contested between teams of professionals and amateurs, reflecting the 'gentlemen and players' tradition. The Football Association Charity Shield, as it was then known, was created to replace the Sheriff of London Charity Shield after leading amateur clubs became estranged from the FA. The inaugural match in 1908 was played between Manchester United, the Football League First Division champions, and Queens Park Rangers, the Southern League champions. After a 1–1 draw in the first game, United won 4–0 in the replay, marking the only occasion the Shield required a second leg. Both matches were played at Stamford Bridge.

The format of the competition varied in its early years. In 1913 it featured Amateurs versus Professionals XIs, and in 1921 the Shield was first contested between the Football League and FA Cup winners. Throughout the 1920s the fixture often continued the amateur versus professional theme, including the 1927 match between Cardiff City as FA Cup holders and the Corinthians representing the amateurs. In 1930 the competition settled into its now-familiar format of pitting the league champions against the FA Cup winners, with few exceptions. Notable deviations include the 1950 Shield between the England national team and an FA team returning from a tour of Canada, and the 1961 fixture where double-winning Tottenham Hotspur played a Football Association XI.

The match has been held at the start of the season since 1959. Situations where one club won both the league and FA Cup created inconsistencies in opposition. In 1971, Arsenal declined to participate due to prior commitments, so Leicester City, as Second Division champions, faced FA Cup runners-up Liverpool and won the trophy, despite having never previously won the League or FA Cup. In 1972 and 1973, several clubs declined invitations, leading to irregular pairings such as Manchester City versus Aston Villa and Burnley. In 1974, FA secretary Ted Croker formalised the modern format of league champions versus FA Cup winners, hosted annually at Wembley Stadium. Between 1949 and 1991, eleven editions of the Shield were shared following drawn results, but since 1993, penalty shoot-outs have been used to determine a winner.

The formation of the Premier League in 1992 led to the Shield becoming a showcase between the Premier League and FA Cup winners starting from the 1993 edition. In 2002, the Charity Commission ruled that the Football Association had failed to fulfil its charitable obligations, including delays in disbursing funds and a lack of transparency over gate revenue allocation. This led to the competition being renamed the Community Shield. Arsenal won the first edition under the new name, defeating Liverpool 1–0. In 2016, the FA's silversmith Thomas Lyte restored and rebuilt the original 1908 Shield to mark the 50th anniversary of England’s 1966 FIFA World Cup triumph. The trophy was then auctioned for £40,000 to support the Bobby Moore Fund for Cancer Research UK, which became the FA’s official charity partner that year. The auction was held at The Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington, the same venue where England had celebrated their 1966 victory.