Which teams qualify to play in the Community Shield? Is it a major trophy?

You know the new Premier League season is just around the corner when Community Shield pops up on your soccer scores app of choice. In many ways, 2024/25 begins as the 2023/4 ended, with Manchester City and Manchester United facing off at Wembley for the first trophy of the campaign.

Why are Manchester City and United playing in the Community Shield?

On May 25, The Red Devils surprisingly defeated their city rivals in London to win the FA Cup, denying Pep Guardiola’s team a league and cup double.

In doing so, they ensured the very same fixture would again be played at Wembley almost three months later in the Community Shield, which brings together the previous season’s Premier League champions and FA Cup winners.

If the same team triumphs in both competitions, then the second-placed team in the Premier League is their opponent instead. This most recently happened just last year, when league runners-up Arsenal face City, who had won the continental treble in 2022/23.

How important is the Community Shield?

While the Community Shield is technically the first trophy of the English season, few in England consider it to be of great importance. Perhaps the most obvious indication of that is the fact the trophy used to be shared if the match ended in a draw, which happened 10 times between 1949 and 1991.

The first ever penalty shootout to determine the winner was held in 1993 and there have since been nine more. But even so, you won’t find many that really consider it a major trophy.

That, of course, begs the question: what is a major trophy? There is no ‘official’ definition of the term, with potential answers relating to where the competition stands in a club’s priority list and, simply, whether it feels important or not.

While Super Cups in another countries are much less significant than league championships or domestic cups, it certainly feels as if they carry more weight than the Community Shield.

Guardiola and Klopp struggle to understand Community Shield status

Foreign coaches such as Pep Guardiola and Jürgen Klopp are among those who have had trouble understanding the English view of the fixture.

Ahead of the 2019 match, the former Barcelona coach compared his experience in England with those in Spain and Germany. “In Spain and Germany it’s important. We have won two titles this season and have three to play (for) but everyone says one. Why play if it doesn’t count? We could have longer holidays.”

12 months later, Kloop similarly complained: “It’s a final. This is the first time that I realised nobody sees it like that to be honest. A ‘curtain-raiser’ is unbelievable. I don’t know exactly why people play this competition if it means nothing. Why don’t we cancel it then?”