Arsenal and Manchester City will contest the Community Shield on Sunday at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, marking the first time English football's traditional curtain-raiser has been staged outside Wembley since 2006, when Liverpool defeated Chelsea 2-1 in Cardiff.
The switch in venue was not the result of any oversight by the Football Association but rather a scheduling decision, with a run of four concerts by the Weeknd at Wembley Stadium proving more commercially attractive than hosting the traditional season-opening fixture.
This year's meeting pits the reigning Premier League champions against the FA Cup holders, with kickoff set for 3pm. It represents a fresh chapter for Manchester City, who enter the new campaign in the post-Pep Guardiola era, while Arsenal will be looking to build on their cup success from last season.
The fixture arrives twelve months after Liverpool's involvement in the corresponding match, when they were beaten on penalties by Crystal Palace following a dramatic 2-2 draw at Wembley in which they had twice held the lead. Mohamed Salah's missed opening spot-kick in that shootout was later seen by some as an ominous sign for what followed in Liverpool's campaign, though the context of the club's mourning for the death of Diogo Jota cast a shadow over that occasion.
Sunday's Community Shield forms part of a busy weekend of football across England, with the EFL season also getting underway. Saturday saw the traditional big kickoff for the Championship, League One and League Two, following Friday night's curtain-raiser between Wolves and Blackburn — a fixture that also recalled the 1960 FA Cup final for long-time supporters of the English game.
Among the standout Championship fixtures on the opening weekend was Middlesbrough's home clash with Lincoln City, the visitors returning to the second tier for the first time since 1961. Lincoln's promotion campaign fell agonisingly short of a first-ever trip to the Premier League last season, but few among their travelling support will complain about facing a club that itself played in the top flight as recently as 2016-17 — the same season Manchester City secured promotion from the National League.
Sunday's football schedule extends beyond the Community Shield, with Watford hosting Southampton and a notable Championship derby between Burnley and West Ham drawing considerable attention. The Burnley clash represents a first league match in charge for new manager Nicky Hayen, the well-traveled Belgian now embarking on his 12th managerial role in 13 years. He will be looking to rebuild optimism among a fanbase weary of yo-yoing between the top two divisions over the past five seasons.
Across the technical area, West Ham are managed by Nuno Espírito Santo, who was unable to keep the Hammers in the Premier League last term. The east London club also finds itself contending with reported turbulence in the boardroom as it seeks a swift return to the top flight.
The weekend's football takes place alongside the concluding stages of the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, where British athletes including Amber Anning, Jake Wightman and Georgia Hunter Bell are among those competing for medals at the Alexander Stadium, alongside Sweden's pole vault star Mondo Duplantis.
Based on reporting from The Guardian.