Community Shield Winners: Full List of Past Champions

Many bemoan the sapping of tradition in modern football, but the Community Shield has remained a part of the English calendar for more than a century.

Like many domestic competitions, the annual fixture has dissipated in significance over the years. Now, the contest is regarded by some to be no more than a glorified friendly and the unofficial curtain-raiser for the new season.

The Community Shield has taken on an array of forms since its 1908 inception. It wasn’t until 1930 that the bout pitted the league champions against the FA Cup winners, with the concept we are now very much familiar with being established by former FA Secretary Ted Croker in 1974.

It may not breach the ’major trophy’ threshold, but Community Shield victories are nonetheless tallied by clubs in their list of historical honours.

Here are the most successful teams of this annual clash.

Most Successful Community Shield Teams

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that English football’s big boys have dominated this fixture since its establishment.

There have been 25 different winners, excluding the Professionals and Amateur XIs, who often competed between 1913 and 1929. No team has been more successful than Manchester United, who have 21 outright wins and title shares. Up until 1993, the Shield was shared if there was no victor after 90 minutes.

Of their 21 successes, 10 came under the watch of Sir Alex Ferguson, who often downplayed the importance of the fixture. “It was not the real stuff,” the Scot said after United beat their Manchester rivals in the 2011 iteration. The Red Devils haven’t prevailed since 2016, and were beaten finalists in 2024—their 10th Community Shield defeat.

Arsenal, the most prolific FA Cup outfit in history, have won the second-most Community Shields (19), while Liverpool, who pulled level with Man Utd’s 20 league titles in May, have 16 triumphs. Everton, a dominant force in the 80s, are nine-time winners.

There are only eight more multi-time winners, with the remaining 13 triumphing just once. Of those 13, three (Portsmouth, West Ham United and Aston Villa) only shared the title.

2024 winners Manchester City have enjoyed plenty of success in the 21st century, with four of their seven triumphs arriving after their Abu Dhabi takeover. Chelsea also rank among the most successful sides of contemporary times, and have been regulars in this fixture since José Mourinho’s first stint in charge.