Community Shield: Kick-off time brought forward by 90 minutes after fan complaints
- Published
Liverpool won the 2022 Community Shield by beating Manchester City at King Power Stadium
The Football Association has moved the kick-off time for the Community Shield after fans complained about "inconvenient scheduling".
Manchester City will play Arsenal in the traditional season-opening game at Wembley.
Initial plans for a 17:30 BST start on 6 August were met with frustration from City fans over concerns about travel on public transport.
The game will now kick off at 16:00 BST on the same day.
City fan group WeAre1894 had called on supporters to boycott the match because of the "significant travel challenges".
Some supporters had even begun to make donations to a local foodbank instead of spending money on a match ticket.
A Manchester City spokesperson said: "Having contacted the FA to express our reservations and clarify why the kick-off time of 17.30 BST on a Sunday was originally chosen, we are pleased that the decision to bring forward kick-off has now been made.
"Whilst we understand that this will not fully alleviate travel issues for our fans and our preference would have been for an earlier kick-off time still, we hope that the new kick-off time will make a difference."
FSA warned Wembley would see empty seats
The Football Supporters' Association (FSA) had said it understood the reaction to the previous kick-off time.
Prior to the game being moved, a spokesperson for the FSA told BBC Sport: "What used to be an early to mid-afternoon game is now being held on a Sunday evening at the behest of the FA's broadcasters.
"Manchester City supporters are understandably upset, with some calling for boycotts, at this inconvenient scheduling of the Community Shield which will leave many facing difficult decisions about transport and time-off.
"This decision to put the needs of broadcasters ahead of match-going fans will undoubtedly lead to empty seats and sour what should be an otherwise exciting curtain-raiser for the new season."
The Community Shield is played at the beginning of the English football season between the previous campaign's Premier League and FA Cup winners.
As Manchester City won both competitions, the second-placed Premier League team, Arsenal, will play in the fixture.
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