The competition is fading in significance in England, but a move to the U.S. could give it new life
Anyone still doubting the popularity of English soccer in the United States merely needs to look at what happened when Manchester United played Liverpool in Columbia earlier this month. The modest college town, roughly the size of Oxford with fewer than 140,000 inhabitants, was overwhelmed with visitors for the friendly between English football's greatest rivals to the point that thousands could not make it into the Williams-Brice Stadium in time for kick-off due to the heavy traffic.
The 77,000-capacity stadium eventually filled up by the start of the second half, meaning more people saw the game than when they had last met in the Premier League at Old Trafford in Aperil. Tickets were priced at around $100 face-value and started at $152 on re-sale website Vivid Seats. That's more than double the cost of a Premier League ticket at Old Trafford or Anfield. The game sold out quickly, despite both sides being without the bulk of their international players.
GettyRoaring success
The demand was matched at most games played this summer in the States, where no fewer than 10 Premier League teams (as well as League One side Wrexham) decided to hold pre-season tours, including Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea and Aston Villa.
Seventy thousand people packed into a sold-out SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles for Arsenal's victory over United, while 69,000 made it to Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia to see the Gunners face Liverpool.
The roaring success of the many tours has made a convincing case in favour of one of the most controversial arguments in football at the moment, the prospect of playing Premier League games abroad. The argument has been brewing for more than 16 years, when the idea of having a 39th round of fixtures was floated by then-league chief Richard Scudamore.
Back in 2008, the idea was quickly defeated by fan dissent and questions of sporting integrity, as domestic leagues are based around the concept of playing each team home and away. That stumbling block remains, despite the growing popularity of the sport across the pond.
But what if there were a third way, whereby American fans could watch a competitive match with a trophy on the line without harming the league's tradition and angering local supporters by depriving them of a home match? The solution is simple: take the Community Shield to the United States.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesFading interest
United and City ended their U.S. tours earlier than many of their fellow Premier League sides to prepare for the Community Shield at Wembley. But there is a growing case to play the game in the States.
The Community Shield is ripe for exportation. It is a competition steeped in history, having been played since 1908 between the winners of the league and the FA Cup holders. That format almost guarantees that the top teams will be involved each year, ensuring a blockbuster game and a sell-out crowd.
Playing abroad would also give the competition a much-needed refresh, as it has threatened to feel stale in recent years. Saturday's match is still not sold out. Wembley will still be well attended if not completely full, and that should not be a complete surprise as it is the third meeting between United and City at the stadium in the last 15 months.
For both sets of fans – but especially for City, who have played under the arch 18 times during Pep Guardiola's time in charge – going to Wembley is not as special as it once was. Familiarity can breed apathy. Previous editions of the Community Shield have also struggled to pull huge crowds.
Only 45,000 people turned out for the 2021 match between City and Leicester, while the 2022 edition between City and Liverpool was played at the King Power Stadium, which holds only 32,000, as Wembley was being used for the Women's European Championship final. It says a lot about the competition's declining popularity that a larger venue such as Old Trafford or the Principality Stadium was not chosen instead.
GettySuccess for Spain & Italy
Spain has managed to rekindle interest in its equivalent competition, the Supercopa de Espana, by expanding the format to four teams and exporting it to Saudi Arabia. The move has not been without controversy; Athletic Club, Atletico Madrid and Valencia have criticised it for breaking with tradition, while human rights groups have also condemned the agreement.
There have also been questions about the involvement of Luis Rubiales and Gerard Pique in brokering the deal, which is worth approximately €40 million (£34m/$44m) per season. However, as well as offering a huge windfall to the Spanish federation and raising money for grassroots football, the deal has unquestionably helped raise the profile of the competition.
The teams take it just as seriously as before, if not more so. Barcelona sacked coach Ernesto Valverde days after his side were knocked out by Atletico in the semi-finals in 2020. The last three finals, both between Real Madrid and Barca, have been fiercely competitive and watched by sell-out crowds.
Italy, meanwhile, has been playing its Supercoppa abroad since 1993, when AC Milan beat Torino in Washington DC. The competition has since been held in Libya, New Jersey, China and Qatar, while this year's edition was held in Saudi Arabia as part of a €23m (£20m/$24m) per season deal which runs until 2028.
GettyStrong support
The Football Association could boost interest in the competition by taking the Community Shield to the U.S. and, unlike with Spain and Italy, there would be no political controversy. There would also be less of a strain on players than playing the competition in the middle of the season in the Middle East, precisely because the clubs most likely to be contesting the Community Shield tend to spend their summers in America anyway.
There is strong support among the game's powerbrokers to have Premier League games, or at the very least competitive matches, in the States. Jon Miller, a leading executive at NBC Sports, which holds the rights to the Premier League in North America, has proudly admitted he has been pushing for games to be held in the States.
"At some point in the future, I would love to see a couple of Premier League games open the season here in big stadiums on our opening weekend," Miller told . "And I know that’s something that we’ll continue to push for because I think that there’s an American audience here that would like to see regular season games.."
New Jersey governor Phil Murphy has said he would "die" to see competitive games played in the States, particularly at MetLife Stadium in the garden state, which will host the 2026 World Cup final and last year played host to United's game with Arsenal before hosting a Clasico between Barca and Madrid this past week.