The 1981 FA Charity Shield was the 59th FA Charity Shield, an annual football match played between the winners of the previous season's Football League and FA Cup competitions. The match was played on 22 August 1981 at Wembley Stadium and played between 1980–81 Football League champions Aston Villa and FA Cup winners Tottenham Hotspur. The match ended in a 2–2 draw and the sides shared the trophy for six months each.
Peter Withe scored twice for Villa, and Mark Falco twice for Tottenham, in front of a 92,500-strong crowd.
Match details
| Aston Villa | 2–2 | Tottenham Hotspur |
|---|---|---|
| Withe 31', 53' | Falco 44', 49' |
Attendance: 92,500
Aston Villa
Tottenham Hotspur
| GK | 1 | Jimmy Rimmer | ||
| DF | 2 | Kenny Swain | ||
| DF | 3 | Colin Gibson | ||
| DF | 4 | Allan Evans | ||
| DF | 5 | Ken McNaught | ||
| MF | 6 | Dennis Mortimer (c) | ||
| MF | 7 | Des Bremner | ||
| FW | 8 | David Geddis | ||
| FW | 9 | Peter Withe | ||
| MF | 10 | Gordon Cowans | ||
| MF | 11 | Tony Morley | ||
| Substitutes: | ||||
| DF | 12 | Gary Williams | ||
| MF | 13 | Andy Blair | ||
| MF | 14 | Robert Hopkins | ||
| DF | 15 | Brendon Ormsby | ||
| GK | 16 | Nigel Spink | ||
| Manager: | ||||
| Ron Saunders | ||||
| GK | 1 | Ray Clemence | |
| DF | 2 | Chris Hughton | |
| DF | 3 | Paul Miller | |
| DF | 4 | Graham Roberts | |
| MF | 5 | Ricky Villa | |
| DF | 6 | Steve Perryman (c) | |
| MF | 7 | Ossie Ardiles | |
| FW | 8 | Steve Archibald | |
| MF | 9 | Tony Galvin | |
| MF | 10 | Glenn Hoddle | |
| FW | 11 | Mark Falco | |
| Substitutes: | |||
| DF | 12 | Gordon Smith | |
| GK | 13 | Milija Aleksic | |
| DF | 14 | Paul Price | |
| MF | 15 | Garry Brooke | |
| FW | 16 | Chris Jones | |
| Manager: | |||
| Keith Burkinshaw | |||
