The 2022 Community Shield has been moved from its traditional home to Leicester City’s King Power Stadium. With Wembley scheduled to host the Women’s Euro 2022 Final -pencilled in for the same day as the shield final- changing the venue for the Shield final was deemed necessary by English football authorities.

In a statement released on the club’s website, Leicester’s Chief Executive Susan Whelan welcomed the move:

“Being able to host such a prestigious fixture in our stadium is fantastic news for the city and further underlines Leicester City’s long-term commitment to establish Leicestershire as a home for high profile sporting events.

“On behalf of the Football Club, I’d like to thank the FA and all stakeholders who have worked with us on making this possible. We look forward to welcoming teams and supporters from Manchester City and Liverpool to the city in July.”

Also Read: Guardiola calls Man City team ‘legends’, focuses on 4 PL wins in 5 years

The traditional curtain-raiser to the English football season, it was last played outside Wembley in 2012. In a see-saw encounter held at Villa Park, league champions Manchester City resisted FA Cup winners Chelsea late charge, holding on for a 3-2 win. It was their first Community Shield since 1972! Back then, with The London Olympics in full swing, Wembley would play host to the finals of the Olympic football tournament. It will be only the third time in the fixture’s history that it will be played outside London, apart from a brief hiatus between 2001-06 when Wembley was under reconstruction.

Also Read: Liverpool investors RedBird Capital confirm €1.2 billion AC Milan takeover

Leicester City is the present holder after beating Man City courtesy of ex-blue Kelechi Iheanacho’s penalty. In the 2022 iteration, Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool will resume their rivalry against Guardiola’s Man City, a club who’ve made it a habit to contest for the silver plate. Since the Catalan’s arrival in 2016, it is their fourth appearance, with two wins.