Barely a month since the conclusion of the World Cup in Brazil, the new football season gets underway this weekend and BT Sport will have exclusively live coverage of the traditional season curtain-raiser from Wembley Stadium as Arsenal take on Manchester City in the 2014 FA Community Shield.
The fixture between the Premier League champions and the FA Cup winners will give fans a first glimpse of the two clubs’ new signings and whets the appetite before the new Premier League season starts next weekend.
Despite being regarded by some as just another pre-season friendly, the Community Shield always produces plenty of entertainment, with the last five having produced a total of 20 goals between them and
The two Manchester clubs have prevailing in four between them in the last five years, though the Gunners have won this trophy twelve times to the Citizens’ four wins, but you have to go back to 1934 for the last meeting between these clubs in this fixture.
City’s summer spending has seen Bacary Sagna make the move north from Arsenal, while the Gunners have thrilled their fans with the acquisition of Barca star Alexis Sanchez.
The Premier League fixture last December between the two sides was a memorable 6-3 win for Manchester City and if the Community Shield clash gets close to matching that excitement, fans will be in for a treat.
Money raised from the fixture, which kicks off at the national stadium at 3.00pm, will be distributed to various charities and good causes across the country.
BT Sport inherits live coverage of the season-opening fixture through its new shared deal with the BBC for live coverage of the FA Cup, which kicks in from the start of the 2014/15 season.
For the past two years the match has been shown live on ITV, but with the free-to-air FA Cup rights transferring back to the BBC this season, BBC One will instead screen terrestrial highlights of the 2014 fixture.
Last season’s Community Shield at Wembley was won by Manchester United in a 2-0 victory over Wigan Athletic, with David Moyes winning a piece of silverware in the first official match of his short reign.
Commenting on the fixture, FA chairman Greg Dyke said: “There were eleven goals in their two Premier League meetings last season so it’s a mouth-watering game to herald in the 2014-15 campaign.
“Arsenal got their hands on The FA Cup in a thrilling final last season and it was silverware that their supporters craved so they’ll relish another trip to Wembley I’m sure.
“Manchester City were pushed to the wire by Liverpool but were worthy Premier League champions which was a fantastic achievement for Manuel Pellegrini in his debut season in English football.
Dyke added: “Not forgetting their League Cup Final win and scoring over 100 Premier League goals which were both tremendous accomplishments.”
BT Sport will screen the 2014 FA Community Shield between Manchester City and Arsenal exclusively live from Wembley Stadium on Sunday, August 10.
Jake Humphrey presents the channel’s live coverage from the national stadium with build-up on BT Sport 1 and BT Sport 1 HD starting at 2.30pm, half-an-hour before kick off.
Pitchside analysis comes from Ian Wright and Steve McManaman, match commentary from Darren Fletcher and Michael Owen, while Ray Stubbs conducts the pre and post-match interviews.
BT Sport secured a four-year deal for live coverage of the FA Cup from 2014/15 season onwards, shared with the BBC, and along with its Community Shield coverage, BT Sport will also screen the FA Trophy final live as part of its new FA deal, as well as the FA Youth Cup.
The FA Cup sits alongside the BT Sport’s live coverage of 38 Barclays Premier League games per season, European action from Italy, Germany, France and Portugal, plus, from 2015/16, exclusively live coverage of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.
BBC Sport will screen terrestrial TV highlights of the annual season curtain-raiser as Premier League champions Manchester City take on FA Cup winners Arsenal at Wembley.
A special edition of Match of the Day will be broadcast at 10.45pm on BBC One and BBC One HD on Sunday night, presented by Jason Mohammad, featuring all the highlights and key moments from the match, with commentary from Steve Wilson and Martin Keown.
There will be live radio commentary of the match on BBC Radio 5 live from 3.00pm, plus the full TV highlights programme will be available to watch on BBC iPlayer shortly after broadcast.
For more information about the FA Community Shield, visit the official website.
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Sunday 10th August
FA Community Shield 2014
Kick-off: 15:00 | Wembley Stadium
LIVE: 2.30pm-5.30pm BT Sport 1 Highlights: 10.25pm-11.10pm BBC One
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