// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did ASEAN Championship say to the ball? You're a kick above the rest.

Not to be confused with FIFA ASEAN Cup.

ASEAN Championship

Organiser(s)	ASEAN Football Federation (AFF)
Founded	1996 (1996)
Region	Southeast Asia
Teams	11
Current champions	Vietnam (3rd title)
Most championships	Thailand (7 titles)
Website	aseanutdfc.com
2026 ASEAN Championship

The ASEAN Championship is a biennial international men's association football competition organised by the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) for national teams in Southeast Asia. First held in 1996, it is the principal senior men's national-team competition organised by the AFF and forms part of a wider programme of regional competitions that includes the ASEAN Club Championship, ASEAN Women's Championship and ASEAN U-23 Championship. Formerly known as the AFF Championship or AFF Cup, the tournament is currently marketed as the ASEAN Hyundai Cup under a title-sponsorship agreement.

The championship is organised as a series of even-numbered editions, although some tournaments have extended into later calendar years. The 2006 edition was postponed until January and February 2007, while the 2020 edition was played in December 2021 and January 2022 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the 2018 edition, the final tournament has generally comprised ten teams divided into two groups of five. Each team plays two group matches at home and two away, after which the two highest-placed teams in each group advance to two-legged semi-finals and a two-legged final.

Four national teams had won the championship through 2024. Thailand is the most successful with seven titles, followed by Singapore with four, Vietnam with three and Malaysia with one. Indonesia has reached six finals without winning the competition. Vietnam entered the 2026 tournament as defending champion after defeating Thailand 5–3 on aggregate in the 2024 ASEAN Championship final.

The competition developed from a two-week, centrally hosted tournament into a home-and-away event played across the region. It has become a prominent setting for Southeast Asian football rivalries, including the Malaysia–Singapore rivalry and contests involving Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia. Independent reporting has described the tournament as both an important source of national sporting identity and a competition whose playing standard can be constrained by scheduling outside the FIFA International Match Calendar.

In 2026, FIFA introduced a separate FIFA ASEAN Cup within an official international window. The creation of a second regional national-team tournament raised questions about scheduling, player availability, commercial competition and the respective positions of the FIFA- and AFF-organised events. As of August 2026, neither competition had been announced as a replacement for the other.

History

Origins and establishment

The ASEAN Football Federation emerged from efforts to extend regional cooperation into football administration. Informal discussions began in Bangkok in 1982 between representatives associated with the national football bodies of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, the Singapore and the Thailand, together with officials from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The federation's first formal meeting was held in Jakarta from 31 January to 1 February 1984.

The AFF's establishment broadly paralleled the development of regional institutions associated with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), although the political organisation and football federation are legally separate bodies. Its initial activities focused on club football, including an ASEAN club competition intended to determine a regional representative for Asian club competition. The AFF stated that these competitions were also intended to narrow differences in football development between its member associations.

Sports-governance scholarship has placed the growth of Asian football institutions within the wider globalisation and commercialisation of the sport. Ben Weinberg described Asian football governance as a network of relationships between FIFA, the AFC and national associations, shaped by substantial differences in political systems, economic resources, infrastructure and administrative capacity across the continent. The ASEAN Championship developed within this broader system as a subregional competition below the AFC's continental tournaments.

The AFF launched its senior men's national-team championship in 1996. The inaugural tournament was held in Singapore and marketed as the Tiger Cup under a sponsorship agreement with Asia Pacific Breweries, the producer of Tiger Beer. It featured the federation's six founding associations together with Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, which had joined the organisation during its expansion in the 1990s. Thailand became the first champion by defeating Malaysia 1–0 at the National Stadium in Singapore.

The competition subsequently became the principal recurring senior national-team tournament confined to Southeast Asia. Its role became more distinct after men's football at the Southeast Asian Games became an age-restricted competition in 2001. The championship remained a subregional event rather than a continental competition; qualification for the AFC Asian Cup and FIFA World Cup continued to be administered separately by the AFC and FIFA.

1996–2002: Early Tournaments

Thailand established itself as the championship's leading early national team. After winning the inaugural tournament, it reached the semi-finals in 1998 and won consecutive titles in 2000 and 2002. Players including Kiatisuk Senamuang, Netipong Srithong-in and Worrawoot Srimaka formed part of the Thailand teams that dominated the period.

Singapore won its first championship in 1998 by defeating host nation Vietnam 1–0 at Hàng Đẫy Stadium in Hanoi. Defender R. Sasikumar scored the final's only goal with his shoulder, a moment subsequently nicknamed the Shoulder of God in reference to Diego Maradona's Hand of God goal at the 1986 FIFA World Cup.

The 1998 tournament was also overshadowed by a group-stage match between Thailand and Indonesia. Both teams had already qualified for the semi-finals and had an incentive to avoid winning because the losing team would face Singapore, then regarded as the more favourable opponent, rather than host nation Vietnam. Indonesian defender Mursyid Effendi deliberately scored an own goal during stoppage time, giving Thailand a 3–2 victory. Both associations were fined for violating the spirit of the game, while Effendi was banned from international football for life. The incident became one of the competition's most prominent controversies and demonstrated the competitive-integrity risks created when final group matches were not played simultaneously.

Thailand defeated Indonesia in the 2000 final, with Worrawoot scoring a hat-trick in a 4–1 victory. The teams met again in the 2002 final at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta. Thailand retained the championship by winning a penalty shoot-out after a 2–2 draw. It was the last single-match final before home-and-away finals became the competition's regular arrangement.

2004–2016: Expansion and Consolidation

The 2004 tournament marked the rise of Singapore under Serbian head coach Radojko Avramović. Singapore defeated Indonesia 5–2 on aggregate in the final, recovering from an inconsistent group stage to win its second championship. Avramović subsequently led the national team to further titles in the nominal 2006 edition and in 2012, becoming the first coach to win the tournament three times with the same country.

The sixth edition was scheduled for late 2006 but postponed because of technical issues. Its qualification tournament was held in Bacolod, Philippines, from 12 to 20 November 2006, while the final tournament was played in Singapore and Thailand from 12 January to 4 February 2007. Contemporary AFF material designated it the 2007 ASEAN Football Championship, but the federation has subsequently described it as the delayed 2006 tournament. The final was the first championship decider between Singapore and Thailand. Singapore prevailed 3–2 on aggregate, retaining the title and extending an unbeaten tournament run that had begun during the 2004 edition.

Vietnam won its first championship in 2008. It defeated Thailand 2–1 in the first leg of the final in Bangkok and drew the return match 1–1 in Hanoi, with Lê Công Vinh scoring a late equaliser to secure a 3–2 aggregate victory. The win was Vietnam's first senior regional championship after reunification.

Malaysia became the fourth national team to win the competition in 2010. Coached by K. Rajagopal, it defeated Indonesia 4–2 on aggregate in a final played before large crowds at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium and Gelora Bung Karno Stadium. Singapore claimed its fourth championship in 2012 by defeating Thailand 3–2 on aggregate. The AFC described Singapore at the time as the first four-time winner of the competition.

Thailand returned to prominence under Kiatisuk, who had won three championships as a player before becoming national-team coach. Thailand defeated Malaysia in the 2014 AFF Championship final and Indonesia in the 2016 AFF Championship final, giving Kiatisuk five titles across his playing and coaching careers. The first leg of the 2016 final at Pakansari Stadium was the first championship final hosted by Indonesia since 2010.

2018–2024: Distributed Hosting and Format Reforms

In 2018, the AFF replaced the centrally hosted group stage with a distributed home-and-away system. The ten finalists were divided into two groups of five, with each national team playing two group matches at home and two away. The two highest-placed teams in each group advanced to home-and-away semi-finals, followed by a two-legged final. The arrangement expanded the number of countries hosting matches, gave every finalist scheduled home fixtures and reduced commercial dependence on one or two central hosts.

The revised format extended the tournament across multiple host countries. Each group contained five teams playing a single round-robin schedule, with every team allocated two home matches and two away matches according to the official draw. Unlike a double round-robin league, each pair of group opponents therefore met only once. The draw determined which team hosted each fixture, so the home-and-away allocation could vary between editions. The 2018 tournament ran from 8 November to 15 December and staged matches at home venues throughout the region.

Vietnam won the first tournament under the revised format. Coached by Park Hang-seo, it conceded only two goals during the 2018 AFF Championship and defeated Malaysia 3–2 on aggregate in the final. The championship formed part of a wider period of improved results for Vietnamese representative teams, including a runners-up finish at the 2018 AFC U-23 Championship and progression to the quarter-finals of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.

The 2020 edition was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic and played in a centralised format in Singapore from 5 December 2021 to 1 January 2022. Despite being staged entirely after the nominal year, it retained the 2020 designation. Thailand defeated Indonesia 6–2 on aggregate in the final and retained the championship in 2022, becoming the first national team to win seven editions.

Vietnam won its third championship in 2024 under South Korean coach Kim Sang-sik. The 2024 ASEAN Championship final paired Vietnam and Thailand for the third time in the competition's history and the second consecutive edition. Vietnam won both legs and prevailed 5–3 on aggregate, with the second leg played before 46,982 spectators at Rajamangala Stadium.

2026: 30th Anniversary and Competing Regional Tournament

Hyundai Motor was announced as the championship's fourth title sponsor in May 2025, succeeding Tiger Beer, Suzuki and Mitsubishi Electric. The competition was renamed the ASEAN Hyundai Cup from the 2026 edition. The sponsorship formed part of a wider agreement covering the AFF's men's club, women's and under-23 competitions.

The 2026 championship marked the competition's 30th anniversary and its 16th edition. It was scheduled from 24 July to 26 August with ten national teams participating. The tournament retained the distributed group stage and two-legged knockout format used since 2018.

The edition was followed less than a month later by the inaugural FIFA ASEAN Cup, scheduled from 24 September to 3 October 2026 during a FIFA international window. The proximity of the competitions created a compressed regional calendar and required national associations to allocate players and preparation time between the two tournaments.

Format

Qualification and participation

The championship is open to Southeast Asian national associations belonging to the AFF. Eleven national teams were eligible for the 2026 tournament, with ten places available in the final competition. Nine teams qualified automatically based on their results in the previous championship, while Brunei and Timor-Leste contested a two-legged play-off for the remaining place. Timor-Leste won the play-off and qualified for the final tournament.

Australia joined the AFF in 2013 but has not participated in the senior men's championship. It has participated in other AFF competitions, particularly at youth and women's level. No permanent publicly available tournament regulation has been identified that formally excludes Australia from the senior championship.

Group and knockout stages

Under the format used since the 2018 edition, ten national teams are divided into two groups of five. Each team plays every other team in its group once, comprising two home matches and two away matches. The top two teams in each group advance to the knockout stage.

The semi-finals and final are played over two legs, with each team hosting one match. The winner is determined by the aggregate score across the two legs. The away-goals rule is no longer applied; if the aggregate scores remain level, the tie is decided by extra time and, if necessary, a penalty shoot-out.

The 2020 edition was an exception to the distributed arrangement because restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic required centralised staging in Singapore. Other editions have used alternative venues where national football associations were unable to host matches at their preferred national stadiums or within their own territory.

Calendar and player availability

The championship's most persistent structural criticism concerns its position outside the FIFA International Match Calendar. Football clubs are not ordinarily required to release players for national-team competitions held outside designated international windows. The effect is most pronounced for footballers employed by clubs in Europe, Japan, South Korea and other leagues whose schedules continue during the championship.

Before the 2024 edition, several participating teams were unable to select their preferred squads. Indonesia fielded a predominantly under-23 side after several European-based players were unavailable, while Thailand omitted several established internationals. Domestic leagues in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand continued during parts of the tournament, whereas Singapore and Vietnam adjusted their schedules.

The AFF moved the 2026 edition to July and August, partly reflecting changes in domestic-league calendars. The change did not place the competition within a FIFA international window. Malaysia's coaching staff publicly appealed to clubs to release selected players, while the Philippines omitted several overseas-based regulars because their clubs were not obliged to release them.

A match's status as an international fixture is distinct from the club-release rules applicable to it. FIFA defines an International “A” Match as one in which both member associations field their first representative teams; the definition does not depend on the match being played during an International Match Calendar window. The mandatory release of players by clubs is governed separately by the FIFA International Match Calendar and Annexe 1 of the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players.

Hosting and venues

The first tournaments were staged in one or two host countries over a relatively short period. Singapore hosted the inaugural 1996 edition, Vietnam hosted the 1998 edition and Thailand hosted the 2000 edition. Indonesia and Singapore co-hosted the 2002 tournament.

From the 2004 edition, home-and-away knockout ties allowed more participating countries to stage decisive matches. Group stages continued to be centrally hosted or co-hosted until the 2016 edition. The 2018 reform distributed group-stage matches throughout Southeast Asia, giving each finalist two home fixtures while retaining two-legged semi-finals and finals.

The distributed format reduced reliance on one host country but increased international travel and venue requirements. Some participants have used stadiums outside their usual home city or country because of infrastructure, security or regulatory constraints. During the 2024 tournament, Timor-Leste staged designated home matches outside its territory, while Indonesia and Vietnam were among the teams unable to use their principal national stadiums for parts of the competition.

Commercial development

Naming and sponsorship

The competition has used several sponsored names during its history. It was launched as the Tiger Cup in 1996 under a sponsorship agreement with Tiger Beer. After the end of the Tiger Beer agreement, the nominal 2006 edition was staged without a title sponsor and was known contemporaneously as the ASEAN Football Championship. Suzuki became title sponsor in 2008, Mitsubishi Electric succeeded it from the 2022 edition, and Hyundai Motor became title sponsor from the 2026 edition.

Names and title sponsors

Nominal editions	Generic or commonly used name	Sponsored title
1996–2004	ASEAN Football Championship	Tiger Cup
2006	ASEAN Football Championship	None
2008–2020	AFF Championship	AFF Suzuki Cup
2022–2024	AFF Championship / ASEAN Championship	AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup
2026–present	ASEAN Championship	ASEAN Hyundai Cup

The generic name ASEAN Championship is used independently of the current commercial title. Earlier sponsored names, particularly Tiger Cup, Suzuki Cup and AFF Cup, remain common informal names for the competition.

Broadcasting and audiences

Television distribution and digital streaming expanded as the tournament moved from centralised hosting to matches played across Southeast Asia. Matches during the 2026 edition were scheduled for live broadcast through national television networks, streaming services and official social-media channels in participating countries.

The AFF and its commercial partner reported that the 2024 edition generated a cumulative television and digital audience of 541.5 million across 2,595 broadcast hours. They also reported 12.66 billion online video views and six billion social-media impressions. These are cumulative commercial audience metrics and do not necessarily represent distinct individual viewers.

Significance and reception

Place in Southeast Asian football

The championship occupies a position between international competition and a regional cultural event. It does not determine qualification for the FIFA World Cup or AFC Asian Cup, but it provides many Southeast Asian national teams with their most regular opportunity to reach the latter stages of a senior international tournament. For supporters, regional championship matches can carry greater immediate rivalry and national visibility than the early rounds of World Cup qualification or AFC Asian Cup qualification.

The competition's importance increased after men's football at the Southeast Asian Games became an age-restricted competition. This left the ASEAN Championship as the only recurring tournament specifically intended to determine a senior men's champion of Southeast Asia. Its distributed format also means that the competition is hosted collectively rather than functioning primarily as a short tournament in one selected country.

The relationship between football, national identity and sporting nationalism is particularly visible during national-team competitions. A 2024 study of interactions on an ASEAN football Facebook page found that online discussions could strengthen national identification while also producing hostility between supporter groups. The authors argued that social-media platforms amplified both positive expressions of belonging and antagonistic forms of nationalism.

The study concerned ASEAN football-related social media rather than the championship exclusively, and its findings cannot necessarily be generalised to all tournament supporters. It nevertheless provides an academic examination of digital supporter discourse connected to regional football. Independent reporting has similarly described the tournament as a source of national pride and regional bragging rights.

Regional rivalries

The championship has provided a regular competitive setting for national-team rivalries that otherwise occur intermittently during World Cup qualification, AFC Asian Cup qualification and international friendlies. Unlike continental qualification, the tournament places Southeast Asian teams within a self-contained regional competition in which historical neighbours frequently meet at group or knockout level.

The fixture between Malaysia and Singapore, commonly known as the Causeway derby, draws on the countries' geographic proximity, shared political history and longstanding football relationship. Their national teams had met 80 times by December 2024, including several decisive ASEAN Championship fixtures. Singapore defeated Malaysia during its title-winning campaigns in 2004 and 2012, while Malaysia eliminated Singapore during other editions.

Matches between Thailand and Vietnam became increasingly prominent as the countries established themselves as the region's most successful championship teams during the 2010s and 2020s. The national teams contested the finals of the 2008, 2022 and 2024 editions. Thailand's historical dominance and Vietnam's three championships contributed to media descriptions of the fixture as a contest for regional supremacy.

Indonesia's matches against Malaysia and Singapore also carry political, cultural and supporter significance extending beyond tournament standings. Indonesia's large travelling and expatriate supporter base has contributed to substantial away support at matches throughout the region. Reporting on the 2026 tournament described the championship as reflecting patterns of migration and cross-border mobility within Southeast Asia, with supporters often already resident in the country hosting their national team.

Football development and regional imbalance

The AFF was established partly in response to differences in football development among Southeast Asian national associations. Those differences remain visible in the championship. Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia won all 15 completed editions through 2024, while Brunei, Cambodia, Laos and Timor-Leste had not progressed to a final. Indonesia reached six finals without winning, demonstrating that frequent progression did not necessarily translate into championship success.

Differences between participants include population, the resources available to domestic leagues, coaching systems, stadium infrastructure, youth development and the number of players employed in stronger overseas leagues. The distributed tournament format exposes these inequalities more directly because each national association is expected to stage home matches and manage international travel, broadcasting and venue requirements.

The championship has also had an uncertain relationship with broader Asian performance. Thailand and Vietnam have generally been among the strongest Southeast Asian teams in the competition, but regional titles have not consistently translated into qualification for the FIFA World Cup or sustained progress at the AFC Asian Cup. When FIFA announced the FIFA ASEAN Cup in October 2025, Indonesia was the only Southeast Asian national team to have advanced beyond the third round of Asian qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Scholarship on football governance in Asia has argued that continental development programmes operate across countries with substantially different institutional and economic capacities. The ASEAN Championship provides a regular competitive structure but cannot by itself resolve differences in domestic governance, grassroots and youth development, professional-league quality, infrastructure and access to higher-level competition.

Criticism and structural limitations

The tournament's principal criticism concerns player availability. Because the competition has frequently been staged outside FIFA international windows, participating national associations may be unable to select their strongest squads, particularly when leading players are contracted to overseas clubs. Domestic and continental club competitions, including national leagues and AFC club competitions, may also continue during the tournament.

Venue availability has presented another recurring difficulty. National teams have sometimes been unable to use their principal stadiums, while Timor-Leste has staged designated home matches outside its territory. Such arrangements may reduce home advantage, local attendance and the atmosphere associated with national venues.

The distributed format also entails more travel than a centrally hosted tournament. Teams may travel between several Southeast Asian countries during the group stage before undertaking further journeys for two-legged semi-finals and finals. This expands access to home matches but increases travel costs, logistical demands and potential disparities between associations with different financial and administrative resources.

The creation of the FIFA ASEAN Cup potentially addresses the player-release problem because the FIFA competition is scheduled within an official international window. It also increases calendar congestion and may divide media attention, sponsorship and squad priority between two competitions involving overlapping national teams.

Results

Summary by edition

The table uses the competition's nominal even-numbered edition sequence. The sixth edition was played in January and February 2007 after being postponed from late 2006. It was contemporaneously designated the 2007 ASEAN Football Championship, while later AFF historical material describes it as the delayed 2006 tournament.

ASEAN Championship finals

Edition	Champion	Result	Runner-up
1996	Thailand	1–0 single match	Malaysia
1998	Singapore	1–0 single match	Vietnam
2000	Thailand	4–1 single match	Indonesia
2002	Thailand	2–2 (a.e.t.) 4–2 on penalties	Indonesia
2004	Singapore	5–2 on aggregate	Indonesia
2006	Singapore	3–2 on aggregate	Thailand
2008	Vietnam	3–2 on aggregate	Thailand
2010	Malaysia	4–2 on aggregate	Indonesia
2012	Singapore	3–2 on aggregate	Thailand
2014	Thailand	4–3 on aggregate	Malaysia
2016	Thailand	3–2 on aggregate	Indonesia
2018	Vietnam	3–2 on aggregate	Malaysia
2020	Thailand	6–2 on aggregate	Indonesia
2022	Thailand	3–2 on aggregate	Vietnam
2024	Vietnam	5–3 on aggregate	Thailand
2026	Tournament in progress

Performance by nation

The following figures are complete through the 2024 edition and exclude the ongoing 2026 tournament.

Performance by national team

Team	Titles	Runners-up	Winning editions	Runners-up editions
Thailand	7	4	1996, 2000, 2002, 2014, 2016, 2020, 2022	2006, 2008, 2012, 2024
Singapore	4	0	1998, 2004, 2006, 2012	—
Vietnam	3	2	2008, 2018, 2024	1998, 2022
Malaysia	1	3	2010	1996, 2014, 2018
Indonesia	0	6	—	2000, 2002, 2004, 2010, 2016, 2020

Thailand won seven of the first 15 completed editions and is the only national team to have won consecutive championships on three separate occasions. It retained the title in 2002, 2016 and 2022. Singapore won four of the eight editions held between 1998 and 2012, while Vietnam's three titles were spread across 2008, 2018 and 2024.

Indonesia reached six finals without winning the championship, losing to Thailand in 2000, 2002, 2016 and 2020, Singapore in 2004 and Malaysia in 2010.

Records and statistics

Unless otherwise stated, records in this section are complete through the 2024 edition.

Team records

• Most championships: Thailand, seven.
• Most consecutive championships: Two, achieved by Thailand on three occasions and Singapore once.
• Most final appearances: Thailand, eleven.
• Most final defeats without winning the championship: Indonesia, six.
• Largest victory: Singapore 11–0 Laos in the nominal 2006 edition, played on 15 January 2007.
• Most successful individual: Kiatisuk Senamuang, with three championships as a player and two as Thailand's head coach.

Individual records

Noh Alam Shah scored seven goals in Singapore's 11–0 victory over Laos in January 2007, the most goals scored by one player in a championship match. He finished the tournament with ten goals and received its leading-scorer and most valuable player awards.

Detailed appearance and goalscoring records are generally updated following the completion of each edition. Statistics from the ongoing 2026 tournament are recorded in the edition article until the tournament is completed.

Awards

The championship has regularly presented awards for the tournament's most valuable player and leading goalscorer. Some editions have also included a fair-play award and other official tournament honours. Awards presented by the AFF are distinct from media-selected teams, supporter polls and unofficial player rankings.

Relationship with other competitions

FIFA ASEAN Cup

FIFA president Gianni Infantino announced the FIFA ASEAN Cup on 26 October 2025 during the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur. The announcement accompanied a renewed memorandum of understanding between FIFA and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. FIFA stated that it would work with the AFC, AFF and relevant national associations to develop the competition.

The inaugural tournament was subsequently scheduled from 24 September to 3 October 2026 during an official FIFA international window. Fourteen national teams were divided between Premier and Challenge divisions. In addition to Southeast Asian teams, the field included invited teams such as India, Pakistan and Hong Kong.

Comparison with the FIFA ASEAN Cup in 2026

Feature	ASEAN Championship	FIFA ASEAN Cup
Principal organiser	ASEAN Football Federation	FIFA, working with regional stakeholders
First edition	1996	2026
2026 dates	24 July–26 August	24 September–3 October
FIFA-calendar status in 2026	Outside an international window	Within an official international window
2026 field	Ten AFF national teams	Fourteen teams across two divisions
2026 staging	Distributed home-and-away competition	Centralised group venues
Knockout format	Two-legged semi-finals and final	Division finals following group play

The FIFA tournament's international-window status gives national associations stronger access to players contracted to overseas clubs. The AFF competition retains a longer history, an established home-and-away model and longstanding regional rivalries.

As of August 2026, FIFA and the AFF had not announced that the ASEAN Championship would be discontinued, replaced by or merged with the FIFA ASEAN Cup. Their future frequency and respective positions in the international calendar remained unresolved.

AFF–EAFF Champions Trophy

In 2018, the AFF and the East Asian Football Federation announced an AFF–EAFF Champions Trophy between the winners of their respective senior men's regional championships. The inaugural match was intended to involve Vietnam, winner of the 2018 AFF Championship, and South Korea, winner of the 2017 EAFF E-1 Football Championship. It was initially scheduled for March 2019 in Hanoi but was postponed after the associations were unable to agree on a date.

The match was subsequently affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and was not played. The Champions Trophy has therefore not developed into an established subsequent competition for ASEAN Championship winners, and the championship should not be described unqualifiedly as a qualification tournament for it.

See also

• ASEAN Football Federation
• FIFA ASEAN Cup
• ASEAN Club Championship
• ASEAN Women's Championship
• ASEAN U-23 Championship
• ASEAN Futsal Championship
• ASEAN Beach Soccer Championship
• EAFF E-1 Football Championship
• SAFF Championship
• CAFA Nations Cup
• WAFF Championship
• Football at the Southeast Asian Games
• AFC Asian Cup

External links

• Official website
• AFF Cup — RSSSF