Arsenal and Manchester City will contest this season's Community Shield at Cardiff's Principality Stadium on Saturday, 16 August — marking the first time since 2006 that the fixture has been played in Wales.

The reason for the move? The Weekend's After Hours til Dawn tour is scheduled at Wembley Stadium on the same date, forcing English football's traditional curtain-raiser out of London. It will be only the third occasion the Community Shield has been staged away from Wembley since the north London venue reopened in 2007.

A familiar role for Principality Stadium

This is not unfamiliar territory for the Principality Stadium. Between 2001 and 2007, while the original Wembley was being demolished and a new national stadium was constructed in its place, Cardiff's iconic venue served as the permanent home for the Community Shield, the FA Cup final, and the EFL Cup final. The rebuilt Wembley hosted its first FA Cup final in 2007, reclaiming its status as English football's showpiece ground.

Previous exceptions to the Wembley rule

The 2012 Community Shield between Manchester City and Chelsea was relocated to Villa Park after Wembley was given over to football events during that summer's Olympic Games.

A decade later, in 2022, the fixture moved again — this time to Leicester City's King Power Stadium — as Wembley hosted the Women's European Championship final. On that occasion, Manchester City faced Liverpool.

A rich history of venues

Beyond Wembley and the Principality Stadium, the Community Shield has been played at a wide range of grounds over the years. Stamford Bridge, Highbury, White Hart Lane, Old Trafford, Maine Road, The Den, Molineux, and Filbert Street have all welcomed the fixture at various points in its history.

This year's match in Cardiff adds another chapter to that varied story, with Arsenal and Manchester City set to kick off the English football season on Welsh soil.