Stream FA Community Shield With the Best VPN
It’s time to kick off the football season with the annual FA Community Shield match at Wembley Stadium. Manchester City, the Premier League champions, will take on their crosstown rivals and winners of the FA Cup, Manchester United on August 10. While technically a friendly, this curtain-raiser for the new domestic season will have a lot of emotion as Manchester City looks to avenge its loss to Manchester United in the recent FA Cup Final.
Check out the guide to see how to stream FA Community Shield for free. I’ll also show you how PIA VPN can help if you’re traveling abroad or you’re blocked from streaming due to local network restrictions.
Quick Guide: How to Live Stream FA Community Shield With PIA VPN
- Get PIA VPN and install it on your streaming device.
- Connect to a streaming-optimized server in London.
- Login to your ITVX account and watch the FA Community Shield in HD.
Table of Contents
When is the FA Community Shield?How to Watch the FA Community Shield for Free in the UK
How to Watch the FA Community Shield for Free in the US
How to Watch the FA Community Shield for Free in Australia
History and Significance of the FA Community Shield
Why You Need a VPN to Watch the FA Community Shield
FAQ
When is the FA Community Shield?
The FA Community Shield takes place on Saturday, August 10th at Wembley Stadium. The kick-off is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
How to Watch the FA Community Shield for Free in the UK
UK football fans can watch the FA Community Shield broadcast for free on ITV and STV. The match will also stream live and on demand for free on ITVX and the STV Player. All you need to do is create your free account using a local postcode, and you’re all set.
ITV only works in the UK and STV only works in Scotland, which can be a problem if you’re a resident traveling abroad and want to watch the match on your ITVX or STV Player account. All you need to do is download PIA VPN and connect to the UK Streaming Optimized server, and you’ll be able to watch the FA Community Shield as if you never left home.
How to Watch the FA Community Shield for Free in the US
You won’t won’t find the FA Community Shield on US TV, at least not on free-to-air or cable. The FA recently signed a multi-year license deal with ESPN+ to broadcast 79 English FA Cup matches per season, including the FA Community Shield.
The ESPN+ coverage of the FA Community Shield includes a pregame show and highlights after the game. You can watch the game live or on demand.
The match kicks off at 10:00 a.m. ET, which may be a problem if you’re at work or school as the network administrator may block ESPN+ and other streaming services. PIA VPN is the easiest way to avoid these restrictions – just install PIA VPN and connect to one of the Streaming Optimized servers in the US to watch the game.
How to Watch the FA Community Shield for Free in Australia
The FA Community Shield has a new Australian broadcast rightsholder. The match will no longer be shown on Paramount and Plus – now you’ll be able to find it on Optus Sport. The subscription-based streaming platform secured a multi-year deal to show the match on TV and over its streaming service for residents of Australia.
History and Significance of the FA Community Shield
The FA Community Shield, originally known as the Charity Shield, was first held in 1908 as a match to raise funds for charitable causes. There have been several different formats throughout the years, including matches between professional and amateur teams. Currently, the FA Cup champs kick off against the Premier League champions – or if both titles are held by a single team, the Premier League runners-up.
Throughout its history, the Shield has produced memorable moments, such as Liverpool’s penalty shootout win over Leeds United in 1974 and Manchester United’s thrilling 3-2 victory over Manchester City in 2011.
The FA Community Shield is more than just a season opener; it’s become a prestigious fixture that provides teams with an early opportunity to win a meaningful early season trophy. The match always takes place at Wembley Stadium, with big crowds and media attention, allowing fans to watch new signings and tactical adjustments ahead of the Premier League campaign.
Despite some viewing it as a glorified friendly, the Community Shield’s significance remains high. This year’s matchup is also another iteration of the Manchester derby, so the stakes are even higher as Man City looks to avenge last year’s loss to Man United in the FA Cup Final, while United may seek to undercut City’s recent dominance in the Premier League.
Why You Need a VPN to Watch the FA Community Shield
Platforms that stream sports live, whether it’s a free service like ITV and STV, or a subscription-based option like ESPN+ or Optus Sport, are restricted to a country or region. This can be a problem if you’re traveling abroad and want to access your account. A VPN with servers in your home country can allow you to access your account as normal.
Wi-Fi networks at schools and offices may block high-bandwidth streaming websites and apps. This poses a big problem for viewers of the Community Shield, since the kick-off is at 3:00 p.m. in London and early morning in the US, times viewers are typically at school or work. VPN encryption hides your online activity so that the network can’t see what sites you’re visiting, allowing you to stream the game with no restrictions.
VPN encryption is also important for preventing selective ISP throttling. This tactic is used by ISPs to limit bandwidth and slow down your internet when streaming or gaming. With your activity masked, the ISP won’t detect a reason to slow down your speed, which should allow you to enjoy the match in the highest available quality without any buffering.
Can I use a VPN to watch the FA Community Shield in another country?
Some FA Community Shield viewers may use a VPN server from outside of the UK to watch on ITVX. You should be aware that doing so may violate copyright law and go against PIA’s terms of service.
PIA VPN puts your privacy first and we never keep tabs on our users’ activity. In fact, when you use PIA, even we can’t see what you’re using it for. That said, we support the media industry and urge you to carefully read your streaming platform’s terms and conditions.
FAQ
The FA Community Shield is on free-to-air TV in the UK, on ITV and STV. If you’re in the US, you can watch the match on ESPN+ and in Australia it can be seen on Optus Sport.
The only free streaming options I’ve seen are ITVX and STV Player in the UK. If you’re a UK resident traveling abroad for work or on holiday, get PIA VPN and connect to the UK London Streaming server to access your account. In the US, ESPN+ is streaming the game on all supported platforms, and similarly in Australia you can live stream the FA Community Shield on Optus Sport.
Traditionally, the winners of the Premier League and the FA Cup play each other in this match. In a season where the same club wins both the Premier League and the FA Cup, the Premier League runner-up plays.
Although the Community Shield is a friendly and doesn’t impact the regular season rankings, it is a traditional match, and the winner will enter the season with a bit of momentum. More importantly, the match raises money for charitable causes, which is always a big deal.
Yes, the FA Community Shield is considered a legit trophy in English football, and is included in the tally of club honors. However, it doesn’t have the same prestige or level of importance as the FA Cup or Premier League championship trophies, because it is technically a preseason match.
No, they are both run by the FA organization, but that is where the similarities end. The FA Cup is a major knockout tournament featuring clubs from all the different levels of English football. It’s one of the oldest and most prestigious football competitions. The FA Community Shield is an annual match between the winner of the FA Cup and the winner of the English Premier League. Winning the Community Shield trophy might be nice, but it’s not on the same level as winning the FA Cup.
Manchester United has the most FA Community Shield trophies. They have 21 total wins, 17 outright and 4 shared. Arsenal is second with 17 wins, 16 outright and 1 shared.
From 1908 to 2002 the match was known as the Charity Shield. The FA changed it to Community Shield to better reflect that in addition to the charitable efforts, there’s also community-focused aspects, and the name better aligns with the game’s missions and causes.