LONDON, Aug 13 — This year’s Community Shield will feature the first-ever double header with both men and women’s games to be played at the Wembley Stadium on Aug. 29, the Football Association (FA) announced on Wednesday.
The first game will feature Women’s Super League (WSL) champions Chelsea and FA Cup holders Manchester City in the women’s edition, which returns for the first time since 2008 when Arsenal defeated Everton 1-0.
This will be followed by the men’s game between Premier League champions Liverpool and FA Cup winners Arsenal. Manchester City won last season’s Community Shield by defeating Liverpool 5-4 in a penalty shootout.
Both matches at Wembley will be played without fans in attendance to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.
“It’s a significant move to raise the bar higher by hosting both a women’s game and a men’s game in what’s set to be an exciting day with back-to-back football action,” said FA chief executive Mark Bullingham.
The women’s game will mark the start of the domestic campaign after the 2019-20 WSL season was abandoned because of the Covid-19 pandemic, with Chelsea awarded the title on a points-per-game basis.
The new WSL season is scheduled to start behind closed doors on the weekend of Sept. 5-6, with Chelsea beginning their title defence at Manchester United.
The men’s Premier League season starts on Sept. 12. — Reuters
