The ASEAN Championship (formerly known as the AFF Championship or the AFF Cup ), currently known as the ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the primary football tournament organized by the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) for men's national teams in Southeast Asia.
| Organising body | AFF |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1996 |
| Region | Southeast Asia |
| Number of teams | 10 (finals) 12 (eligible to enter qualification) |
| Qualifier for | AFF–EAFF Champions Trophy |
| Current champions | |
| Most successful team(s) | |
| Website | aseanutdfc.com |
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.
The ASEAN Championship title has been won by four national teams; Thailand has won seven titles, Singapore four, Vietnam two, and Malaysia one. To date, Thailand and Singapore are the only teams to have won consecutive titles; Thailand in 2000 and 2002, 2014 and 2016 and also 2020 and 2022, and Singapore in 2004 and 2007. It is one of the most watched football tournaments in the region. The ASEAN Championship has also been recognized as an A official tournament by FIFA since 7 December 2024.
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).
History
editThe 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.[1] 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. No country have ever won the AFF Championship title three times in a row. Singapore (2004 and 2007) and Thailand (2000 and 2002 and again in 2014 and 2016) have won twice in a row.
Although having joined the AFF on 27 August 2013, Australia, a member outside Southeast Asia, have not played the ASEAN Championship as part of the initial agreement, though Australia have 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.[2][3][4]
Organisation
editSports marketing, media and event management firm, Sportfive (formerly Lagardère Sports) has been involved in the tournament since the inaugural edition in 1996.[citation needed]
Title sponsorship
editIt 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, Japanese auto-company Suzuki bought the naming rights for the competition, and the competition was named the AFF Suzuki Cup until the 2020 edition.[5] On 23 May 2022, AFF announced a new title sponsorship deal with Japanese company Mitsubishi Electric and the competition was named the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup starting in the 2022 edition.[6]
On 29 February 2024, AFF and Mitsubishi Electric, who is the title partner of the championship, launched a new logo and brand identity for the event. As part of the rebranding, the region’s premier competition formerly known as the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup, was also renamed to the ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup.
| Period | Sponsor | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 1996–2004 | Tiger Beer | Tiger Cup |
| 2007 | No title sponsor | AFF Championship |
| 2008–2020 | Suzuki | AFF Suzuki Cup |
| 2022 | Mitsubishi Electric | AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup |
| 2024– | ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup |
Format
editFrom 2004, the knockout stage is played over two legs on 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 has been applied for knockout stage since the 2010 edition.[a]
Starting with the 2018 edition, a new format was applied. The nine highest ranked teams qualified automatically while the 10th and 11th ranked teams playing in a two-legged qualifier. The 10 teams were split in two groups of five and play 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.[7]
Results
edit| Regular format (1996 - 2002) | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Host | Final | Third place playoff | Number of teams | Total matches played | Total goals in tournament | ||||
| Winners | Score | Runners-up | Third place | Score | Fourth place | |||||
| 1996 | Thailand |
1–0 | Malaysia |
Vietnam |
3–2 | Indonesia |
10 | 24 | 93 | |
| 1998 | Singapore |
1–0 | Vietnam |
Indonesia |
3–3 (a.e.t.) (5–4 p) |
Thailand |
8 | 16 | 55 | |
| 2000 | Thailand |
4–1 | Indonesia |
Malaysia |
3–0 | Vietnam |
9 | 20 | 67 | |
| 2002 | Thailand |
2–2 (a.e.t.) (4–2 p) |
Indonesia |
Vietnam |
2–1 | Malaysia |
9 | 20 | 92 | |
| Home-and-away format in knockout (2004 - 2016) | ||||||||||
| Year | Group stage hosts | Final | Third place playoff or losing semi-finalists | Number of teams | Total matches played | Total goals in tournament | ||||
| Winners | Score | Runners-up | Third place | Score | Fourth place | |||||
| 2004 | Singapore |
3–1 2–1 |
Indonesia |
Malaysia |
2–1 | Myanmar |
10 | 27 | 113 | |
| won 5–2 on aggregate | ||||||||||
| 2007 | Singapore |
2–1 1–1 |
Thailand |
8 | 18 | 50 | ||||
| won 3–2 on aggregate | ||||||||||
| 2008 | Vietnam |
2–1 1–1 |
Thailand |
8 | 18 | 56 | ||||
| won 3–2 on aggregate | ||||||||||
| 2010 | Malaysia |
3–0 1–2 |
Indonesia |
8 | 18 | 51 | ||||
| won 4–2 on aggregate | ||||||||||
| 2012 | Singapore |
3–1 0–1 |
Thailand |
8 | 18 | 48 | ||||
| won 3–2 on aggregate | ||||||||||
| 2014 | Thailand |
2–0 2–3 |
Malaysia |
8 | 18 | 65 | ||||
| won 4–3 on aggregate | ||||||||||
| 2016 | Thailand |
1–2 2–0 |
Indonesia |
8 | 18 | 50 | ||||
| won 3–2 on aggregate | ||||||||||
| Home-and-away format throughout the tournament (2018 - present) | ||||||||||
| Year | Final | Losing semi-finalists | Number of teams | Total matches played | Total goals in tournament | |||||
| Winners | Score | Runners-up | ||||||||
| 2018 | Vietnam |
2–2 1–0 |
Malaysia |
10 | 26 | 80 | ||||
| won 3–2 on aggregate | ||||||||||
| 2020[b] | Thailand[c] |
4–0 2–2 |
Indonesia[c] |
10 | 26 | 88 | ||||
| won 6–2 on aggregate | ||||||||||
| 2022 | Thailand |
2–2 1–0 |
Vietnam |
10 | 26 | 90 | ||||
| won 3–2 on aggregate | ||||||||||
| 2024 | 10 | 26 | ||||||||
Performances by country
edit| Team | Champions | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|
| 7 (1996, 2000, 2002, 2014, 2016, 2020, 2022) | 3 (2007, 2008, 2012) | |
| 4 (1998, 2004, 2007, 2012) | 0 | |
| 2 (2008, 2018) | 2 (1998, 2022) | |
| 1 (2010) | 3 (1996, 2014, 2018) | |
| 0 | 6 (2000, 2002, 2004, 2010, 2016, 2020) | |
| Total | 14 | 14 |
Participating nations
edit| 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) |
2020 (10) |
2022 (10) |
2024 (10) |
Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OFC member | × | × | × | × | × | × | 0 | |||||||||
| GS | • | × | × | × | • | • | × | • | • | • | • | × | GS | • | 2 | |
| GS | • | GS | GS | GS | • | GS | • | • | • | GS | GS | GS | GS | Q | 10 | |
| Part of |
× | GS | • | • | • | • | • | • | GS | GS | • | Q | 4 | |||
| 4th | 3rd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | GS | SF | 2nd | GS | GS | 2nd | GS | 2nd | SF | Q | 15 | |
| GS | GS | GS | GS | GS | GS | GS | GS | GS | GS | • | GS | GS | GS | Q | 14 | |
| 2nd | GS | 3rd | 4th | 3rd | SF | GS | 1st | SF | 2nd | GS | 2nd | GS | SF | Q | 15 | |
| GS | GS | GS | GS | 4th | GS | GS | GS | GS | GS | SF | GS | GS | GS | Q | 15 | |
| GS | GS | GS | GS | GS | GS | • | SF | SF | SF | GS | SF | GS | GS | Q | 14 | |
| GS | 1st | GS | GS | 1st | 1st | SF | GS | 1st | GS | GS | GS | SF | GS | Q | 15 | |
| 1st | 4th | 1st | 1st | GS | 2nd | 2nd | GS | 2nd | 1st | 1st | SF | 1st | 1st | Q | 15 | |
| 3rd | 2nd | 4th | 3rd | GS | SF | 1st | SF | GS | SF | SF | 1st | SF | 2nd | Q | 15 | |
- Legend
|
|
Notes
editAwards
edit| Tournament | Most valuable player | Top goalscorer(s) | Goals | Young player of the tournament | Fair play award |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 7 | Not awarded | |||
| 1998 | 4 | Not awarded | |||
| 2000 | 5 | ||||
| 2002 | 8 | Not awarded | |||
| 2004 | 7 | ||||
| 2007 | 10 | ||||
| 2008 | 4 | ||||
| 2010 | 5 | ||||
| 2012 | 5 | ||||
| 2014 | 6 | ||||
| 2016 | 6 | ||||
| 2018 | 8 | ||||
| 2020 | 4 | ||||
| 2022 | 6 |
Winning coaches
edit| Year | Winning coaches | National team |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | ||
| 1998 | ||
| 2000 | ||
| 2002 | ||
| 2004 | ||
| 2007 | ||
| 2008 | ||
| 2010 | ||
| 2012 | ||
| 2014 | ||
| 2016 | ||
| 2018 | ||
| 2020 | ||
| 2022 |
- Notes
- ^ being the only person to win the competition as a player (1996, 2000, 2002) then coach (2014, 2016).
All-time ranking table
edit- As of the 2024 edition
| Rank | Team | Part | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Best finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 | 87 | 55 | 20 | 12 | 198 | 96 | +102 | 185 | Champions (1996, 2000, 2002, 2014, 2016, 2020, 2022) | |
| 2 | 15 | 80 | 42 | 22 | 16 | 165 | 78 | +87 | 148 | Champions (2008, 2018) | |
| 3 | 15 | 77 | 39 | 17 | 21 | 190 | 129 | +61 | 134 | Runners-up (2000, 2002, 2004, 2010, 2016, 2020) | |
| 4 | 15 | 76 | 34 | 16 | 26 | 133 | 90 | +43 | 118 | Champions (2010) | |
| 5 | 14 | 66 | 33 | 16 | 17 | 118 | 68 | +50 | 115 | Champions (1998, 2004, 2007, 2012) | |
| 6 | 15 | 51 | 15 | 8 | 28 | 62 | 111 | –49 | 53 | Semi-finalists (2004, 2016) | |
| 7 | 13 | 48 | 11 | 4 | 33 | 55 | 60 | –5 | 37 | Semi-finalists (2010, 2012, 2014, 2018) | |
| 8 | 10 | 35 | 6 | 1 | 28 | 41 | 112 | –71 | 19 | Group stage (9 times) | |
| 9 | 14 | 46 | 2 | 6 | 38 | 33 | 174 | –141 | 12 | Group stage (13 times) | |
| 10 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 37 | –34 | 3 | Group stage (1996, 2022) | |
| 11 | 4 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 6 | 60 | –54 | 0 | Group stage (2004, 2018, 2020) |
Records and statistics
editAll time top goalscorers
edit- As of 2022 final
| Rank | Player | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25 | |
| 2 | 17 | |
| 3 | 15 | |
| 5 | 14 | |
| 6 | 13 | |
| 8 | 12 | |
| 10 | 11 | |
| 11 | 10 |
- Bold denotes players still playing international football
Other statistics
edit- Indonesia (2004), Thailand (2008) and Vietnam (2022) did not concede a single goal in their group stage campaigns in the indicated years
- The 2002 AFF Championship Final is still the only final to have been settled on penalties
Most titles
editConsecutive championships
editBiggest wins
editIndonesia 13–1
Philippines on 23 December 2002 at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta)
Most successful coach
edit- Radojko Avramović – 3 (
Singapore, 2004, 2007 and 2012)
Most successful player
edit- Sarach Yooyen – 4 (
Thailand, 2014, 2016, 2020, 2022)
Most goals scored in a single tournament
edit- Noh Alam Shah – 10 (
Most goals scored in a match
edit- Noh Alam Shah – 7 (for
Laos, 2007)
Most tournaments scored in
edit- Teerasil Dangda – 4 (
First ever hat-trick
edit- K. Sanbagamaran – 53 minutes (for
Malaysia vs
Fastest hat-trick
edit- Sarayuth Chaikamdee – 4 minutes (for
Timor-Leste on 12 December 2004)
Youngest player
edit- Zenivio – 16 years 7 months 13 days old (for
Youngest goal scorer
edit- Marselino Ferdinan – 18 years 3 months 24 days (for
Oldest player
edit- Hassan Sunny – 38 years 9 months 1 day old (for
Oldest goal scorer
edit- Aleksandar Đurić – 42 years 3 months 7 day old (for
Marketing
edit| Year | Official match ball name | Manufacturer |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Adidas Questra | Adidas |
| 1998 | Adidas Tricolore | Adidas |
| 2000 | Adidas Tricolore | Adidas |
| 2002 | Adidas Fevernova | Adidas |
| 2004 | Adidas Roteiro | Adidas |
| 2007 | Nike Total 90 Aerow II (Yellow winter) | Nike |
| 2008 | Nike Total 90 Omni (Yellow winter) | Nike |
| 2010 | Nike Total 90 Tracer (Yellow winter) | Nike |
| 2012 | Nike Maxim (Yellow winter) | Nike |
| 2014 | Mitre Delta V12S | Mitre |
| 2016 | Mitre Delta Fluo Hyperseam (Yellow winter) | Mitre |
| 2018 | Grand Sport Primero Mundo X Star | Grand Sport |
| 2020 | Warrix Asean Pulse | Warrix |
| 2022 | Warrix Bersatu | Warrix |
| 2024 | Adidas Tiro Pro | Adidas |
| Current sponsorship | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Title Partner | Presenting Partner | Official Supplier | Official Supporters |
| |||
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ Except the 2020 edition due to all matches being hosted in centralized venue, Singapore.
- ^ The 2020 AFF Championship was postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and hosted in a centralized venue. On 28 September 2021, it was announced that Singapore would host the tournament.[8] Knockout stage had been kept playing over two legs without away goal rule.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Due to non-compliance with conditions set by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), Thailand and Indonesia were not allowed to be represented by their national flags.[9][10] The sanctions took effect in October 2021.[11] Thailand is represented by its national team logo while Indonesia is represented by its coat of arms.
References
edit- ^ "About AFF". aseanfootball.org. Archived from the original on 19 May 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
- ^ Bossi, Dominic (31 January 2019). "Socceroos seeking entrance into 2020 Suzuki Cup". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 31 January 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
- ^ https://www.theroar.com.au/2024/12/01/lessons-from-indonesias-growth-socceroos-must-participate-in-the-asean-championship-for-the-sake-of-the-future/
- ^ https://www.frontpagefootball.net/post/the-time-has-come-for-australia-to-take-its-place-in-the-south-east-asian-game
- ^ "Global News News.2008". Global Suzuki. Archived from the original on 4 October 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
- ^ "AFF Announces Mitsubishi Electric As The New Title Sponsor Of AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2022". www.affmitsubishielectriccup.com. Archived from the original on 10 June 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
- ^ "New format for AFF Suzuki Cup 2018". AFF – The Official Website Of The Asean Football Federation. Archived from the original on 30 December 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
- ^ Noronha, Anselm (28 September 2021). "Singapore to host AFF Suzuki Cup 2020: Teams, how to watch & more". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 3 May 2022. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
- ^ "Thailand loses right to host tournaments". Bangkok Post. Bangkok Post Public Co. Ltd. Archived from the original on 2 April 2023. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
The country has also been denied the right to display its national flag at any such events (international football events).
- ^ "Chairman Of PSSI: Regarding The Flag At AFF 2020, We Will Follow Whatever The Decision Is". VOI – Waktunya Merevolusi Pemberitaan. 24 November 2021. Archived from the original on 22 April 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
- ^ "WADA confirms non-compliance of five Anti-Doping Organizations (7 October 2021)". World Anti-Doping Agency. 7 October 2021. Archived from the original on 28 December 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2021.