The ASEAN Championship (formerly known as the AFF Championship or AFF Cup), currently known as the ASEAN Hyundai Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the biennial football tournament organised by the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) for men's national teams in Southeast Asia.
A biennial international competition, it is contested to determine the sub-continental champion of Southeast Asia. The competition has been held every two years since 1996, scheduled to be in the even-numbered year, except for 2007, and 2020.
Four national teams have won the ASEAN Championship title; Thailand has won seven titles, Singapore four, Vietnam three, and Malaysia one. To date, Thailand and Singapore are the only teams to have won consecutive titles. Thailand did it three times: in 2000, 2002, 2014, 2016, 2020, and 2022, while Singapore did it once in 2004 and 2007. Australia, an AFF member since 2013, has not played the ASEAN Championship. It is one of the most watched football tournaments in the region. The ASEAN Championship is recognised as an 'A' international tournament by FIFA with FIFA ranking points being awarded since 1996.Isu Mata FIFA Ranking Dalam Sejarah Kejohanan Piala AFF - Football Tribe, 13 November 2016.
Since 2018, the championship winners would compete in the following AFF–EAFF Champions Trophy, against the winner of the EAFF E-1 Football Championship (East Asia).
The defending tournament champions are Vietnam, after a 5–3 aggregate victory over Thailand in the 2024 ASEAN Championship final.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino announced the launch of the FIFA ASEAN Cup on 26 October 2025 during the 2025 ASEAN Summits in Kuala Lumpur, although no further details about its format were disclosed until it was announced on 5 June 2026.
History
The first ASEAN Championship took place in 1996 with the six founding members of the ASEAN Federation competing with four nations being invited that came in that region. The final saw Thailand becoming the first champions of ASEAN as they defeated Malaysia 1–0 in Singapore. The top four nations automatically qualified through to the finals in the following edition. This meant the other six nations had to compete in qualifying for the remaining four spots. Myanmar, Singapore, Laos and Philippines all made it through to the main tournament. The tournament has been the only regional competition for national teams since men's football at the SEA Games was for U23 in 2001. No country has ever won the AFF Championship title three times in a row. Singapore (2004 and 2007) and Thailand (2000 and 2002, 2014 and 2016, and 2020 and 2022) have won twice in a row.
In February 2024, the AFF announced that the competition will be rebranded as the ASEAN Championship.
Although having joined the AFF on 27 August 2013, Australia, because of its superior level compared to Southeast Asia, has not played the ASEAN Championship as part of the initial agreement, though Australia has started searching for ways to enter the tournament in recent years due to growth of various Southeast Asian national teams, due to internal pressures, and due to Southeast Asian interests in seeing more competitive football to improve consistency.
On October 26, 2025, FIFA announced the launch of the FIFA ASEAN Cup following the signing of a memorandum of agreement at the 47th ASEAN Summit. It was initially unclear what implication the new FIFA tournament would mean for the conduct of the ASEAN Championship, but on June 5, 2026, FIFA announced that the tournament would feature a total of fourteen teams split across two tiers.
Organisation Sports marketing, media, and event management firm, Sportfive (formerly Lagardère Sports) has been involved in the tournament since the inaugural edition in 1996.
Title sponsorship It was founded as the Tiger Cup, after Singapore-based Asia Pacific Breweries brand Tiger Beer sponsored the competition from its inauguration in 1996 until the 2004 edition. After Asia Pacific Breweries withdrew as title sponsor, the competition was known simply as the AFF Championship for the 2007 edition. In 2008, Suzuki bought the naming rights for the competition and the competition was named the AFF Suzuki Cup until the 2020 edition. On 23 May 2022, AFF announced a new title sponsorship deal with Mitsubishi Electric and the competition was named the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup starting in the 2022 edition.
As part of the competition's rebranding in February 2024, the competition was renamed to the ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup. In May 2025, AFF announced Hyundai Motor Company to be the next title sponsor for the tournament, naming it the ASEAN Hyundai Cup.
+PeriodSponsorName1996–2004Tiger BeerTiger Cup2007No title sponsorAFF Championship2008–2020SuzukiAFF Suzuki Cup2022Mitsubishi ElectricAFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup2024ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup2026–presentHyundai MotorASEAN Hyundai Cup
Sponsorship Current sponsorshipTitle PartnerPresenting PartnerOfficial SupplierOfficial SupportersHyundai MotorShopeeAdidasAcecook VietnamPocari Sweat
Official Match Ball +Official Match Ball through the yearsYearOfficial match ball nameManufacturer1996Adidas QuestraAdidas1998Adidas Tricolore2000Adidas Tricolore2002Adidas Fevernova2004Adidas Roteiro2007Nike Total 90 Aerow II (Yellow winter)Nike2008Nike Total 90 Omni (Yellow winter)2010Nike Total 90 Tracer (Yellow winter)2012Nike Maxim (Yellow winter)2014Mitre Delta V12SMitre2016Mitre Delta Fluo Hyperseam (Yellow winter)2018Grand Sport Primero Mundo X StarGrand Sport2020Warrix Asean PulseWarrix2022Warrix Bersatu2024Adidas Tiro Pro (Iron Metallic / Power Red)Adidas2026Adidas Tiro Pro (Teamgeist)
Format Since 2004, the knockout stage has been played over two legs in a home-and-away format. Since the 2007 edition, there was no third-place match; semi-finalists are listed in alphabetical order. The away goals rule was applied for the knockout stage in 2010-2022 editions.
Starting with the 2018 edition, a new format for group state was applied. The nine highest-ranked teams qualified automatically while the 10th and 11th ranked teams played in a two-legged qualifier to determine the final team to qualify. The 10 teams were split into two groups of five and played a round-robin system, with each team playing two home and two away fixtures. A draw was made to determine where the teams play while the format of the knockout round remained unchanged.
Results Regular format (1996–2002)Edition no.YearHost(s)FinalThird place playoffNumber of teamsTotal matches playedTotal goals in tournamentWinnersScoreScoreI19961–03–2102493II19981–03–3 81655III20004–13–092067IV20022–2 2–192092Home-and-away format in knockout (2004–2016)Edition no.YearGroup stage hostsFinal Third-place playoff or losing semi-finalistsNumber of teamsTotal matches playedTotal goals in tournamentWinnersScoreRunners-upThird placeScoreFourth placeV20043–12–12–11027113won 5–2 on aggregateVI20062–11–1 and 81850won 3–2 on aggregateVII20082–11–1 and 81856won 3–2 on aggregateVIII20103–01–2 and 81851won 4–2 on aggregateIX20123–10–1 and 81848won 3–2 on aggregateX20142–02–3 and 81865won 4–3 on aggregateXI20161–22–0 and 81850won 3–2 on aggregateHome-and-away format throughout the tournament (2018–present)Edition no.YearFinalLosing semi-finalistsNumber of teamsTotal matches playedTotal goals in tournamentWinnersScoreRunners-upXII20182–21–0 and 102680won 3–2 on aggregateXIII20204–02–2 and 102688won 6–2 on aggregateXIV20222–21–0 and 102690won 3–2 on aggregateXV20242–13–2 and 102692won 5–3 on aggregateXVI20262–02–2 and 102687won 4–2 on aggregate
Comprehensive team results by tournament Team 1996(10) 1998(8) 2000(9) 2002(9) 2004(10) 2007(8) 2008(8) 2010(8) 2012(8) 2014(8) 2016(8) 2018(10) 2021(10) 2022(10) 2024(10) 2026(10) Total OFC member AFC member × × × × × × × 0 GS • × × × • • × • • • • × GS • • 2 GS • GS GS GS • GS • • • GS GS GS GS GS GS 11Part of × GS • • • • • • GS GS • GS GS 54th 3rd 2nd 2nd 2nd GS SF 2nd GS GS 2nd GS 2nd SF GS GS 16 GS GS GS GS GS GS GS GS GS GS • GS GS GS GS GS 15 2nd GS 3rd 4th 3rd SF GS 1st SF 2nd GS 2nd GS SF GS SF 16 GS GS GS GS 4th GS GS GS GS GS SF GS GS GS GS GS 16 GS GS GS GS GS GS • SF SF SF GS SF GS GS SF GS 15GS 1st GS GS 1st 1st SF GS 1st GS GS GS SF GS SFSF161st 4th 1st 1st GS 2nd 2nd GS 2nd 1st 1st SF 1st 1st 2nd2nd 163rd 2nd 4th 3rd GS SF 1st SF GS SF SF 1st SF 2nd 1st 1st 16
Legend
– Champions – Runners-up – Third place – Fourth place – Semi-finalist
GS – Group stage Q – Qualified for the current tournament — Qualified but withdrew – Did not qualify – Did not enter / Withdrew / Banned – Hosts / Group stage's hosts
Awards TournamentMost valuable playerTop goalscorer(s)GoalsYoung player of the tournamentFair play awardWinning coaches 1996 Zainal Abidin Hassan Natipong Sritong-In7 Not awarded Thawatchai Sartjakul 1998 Nguyễn Hồng Sơn Myo Hlaing Win4Not awarded Barry Whitbread 2000 Kiatisuk Senamuang Gendut Doni Christiawan Worrawoot Srimaka5 Peter Withe 2002 Therdsak Chaiman Bambang Pamungkas8Not awarded Peter Withe 2004 Lionel Lewis Ilham Jaya Kesuma7 Radojko Avramović 2007 Noh Alam Shah Noh Alam Shah10 Radojko Avramović 2008 Dương Hồng Sơn Budi Sudarsono Agu Casmir Teerasil Dangda4 Henrique Calisto 2010 Firman Utina Safee Sali5 K. Rajagopal 2012 Shahril Ishak Teerasil Dangda5 Radojko Avramović 2014 Chanathip Songkrasin Safiq Rahim6 Kiatisuk Senamuang 2016 Chanathip Songkrasin Teerasil Dangda6 Kiatisuk Senamuang 2018 Nguyễn Quang Hải Adisak Kraisorn8 Park Hang-seo 2021 Chanathip Songkrasin Safawi Rasid Bienvenido Marañón Chanathip Songkrasin Teerasil Dangda4 Pratama Arhan Alexandré Pölking 2022 Theerathon Bunmathan Teerasil Dangda Nguyễn Tiến Linh6 Marselino Ferdinan Alexandré Pölking 2024 Nguyễn Xuân Son Nguyễn Xuân Son7 Suphanat MueantaNot awarded Kim Sang-sik 2026 Nguyễn Đình Bắc Nguyễn Đình Bắc Nguyễn Xuân Son5 Yotsakorn BuraphaNot awarded Kim Sang-sik
Records and statistics Team records Overall team records In this ranking 3 points are awarded for a win, 1 for a draw and 0 for a loss. As per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws. Teams are ranked by total points, then by goal difference, then by goals scored.
Rank Team 11696612015220108+1122032168949241618983+10617131682411823201135+661414167537182013079+511295168237172814296+46128616561793071122–516071556147356772–54981140713248125–772291552284240194–154141028107337–343115190019980–710
Teams reaching the top two TeamChampionsRunners-up7 (1996, 2000, 2002, 2014, 2016, 2020, 2022)5 (2007, 2008, 2012, 2024, 2026)4 (1998, 2004, 2007, 2012)04 (2008, 2018, 2024, 2026)2 (1998, 2022)1 (2010)3 (1996, 2014, 2018)0 6 (2000, 2002, 2004, 2010, 2016, 2020) Total 16 16
Player records All time top goalscorers
RankPlayerGoals1 Teerasil Dangda25 2 Noh Alam Shah 173 Worrawoot Srimaka 15 Lê Công Vinh5 Lê Huỳnh Đức 146 Nguyễn Tiến Linh 13 Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto Adisak Kraisorn9 Bambang Pamungkas 12 Kiatisuk Senamuang
Most successful player Sarach Yooyen – 4 (, 2014, 2016, 2020, 2022)
Most goals scored in a single tournament Noh Alam Shah – 10 (, 2007)
Most goals scored in a match Noh Alam Shah – 7 (for vs , 2007)
Most tournaments scored in Teerasil Dangda – 5 (, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, and 2022)
First ever hat-trick K. Sanbagamaran – 53 minutes (for vs on 4 September 1996)
Fastest hat-trick Sarayuth Chaikamdee – 4 minutes (for vs Timor-Leste on 12 December 2004)
Youngest player Zenivio – 16 years 7 months 13 days old (for Timor-Leste vs on 5 December 2021)
Youngest goal scorer Marselino Ferdinan – 18 years 3 months 24 days (for vs on 2 January 2023)
Oldest player Hassan Sunny – 38 years 9 months 1 day old (for vs on 3 January 2023)
Oldest goal scorer Aleksandar Đurić – 42 years 3 months 7 day old (for vs on 25 November 2012)
Coach records Most successful coach Radojko Avramović – 3 (, 2004, 2007 and 2012)
Other statistics