Shan United qualified for the 2018 MFF Charity Cup as winners of the 2017 Myanmar National League.

They went into the match as holders of the MNL Champion, having defeated Yangon United a year earlier.

Both clubs had only one time met before in the Shield, when Shan United (as Kanbawza FC) won 2-0 in 2014.

MFF donates Ticket fees to Orphan School and other places [2] The 2017 edition was the first competitive fixture in English football to trial the ABBA penalty shoot-out system, provided scores were level after 90 minutes.

[3] The format is similar to a tiebreak in tennis, and is designed "to prevent the team going second from having to play catch-up.