AFF Championship

The ASEAN Football Federation Championship (less formally known as the AFF Championship or AFF Cup), currently known as the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the primary association football tournament organized by the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) for men's national teams in Southeast Asia.

AFF Championship
Symbol used since the 2018 edition
Organising bodyAFF
Founded1996 (1996)
RegionSoutheast Asia
Number of teams10 (finals)
12 (eligible to enter qualification)
Current championsThailand Thailand (7th title)
Most successful team(s)Thailand Thailand (7 titles)
Websiteaffmitsubishielectriccup.com
2024 AFF Championship
AFF Suzuki Cup 2016 final match first leg between Indonesia and Thailand
Tournaments

A biennial international association football competition, it is contested by the men's national teams of the AFF 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 (which was postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic). It was felt that a close co-operation at the football level would improve the quality of football across the region and would make it more competitive at the Asian and world level meets.

The AFF Championship title have been won by four national teams; Thailand have won seven titles, Singapore has four titles, Vietnam has two titles and Malaysia with one title. To date, Thailand and Singapore are the only teams in history 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 AFF Championship is also recognized as an 'A' international tournament by FIFA with FIFA ranking points being awarded since 1996.[1]

Since 2018, the championship winners would compete in the following AFF–EAFF Champions Trophy, against the winner of the EAFF E-1 Football Championship, the champions of East Asia, to determine the champions of East and Southeast Asia. Although having joined the AFF on 27 August 2013, Australia has not been allowed by the AFF to attend the AFF Championship.[2]

History

The first ASEAN Championship took place in 1996 with the six founding members of ASEAN Federation competing with four nations being invited that came in that region. The final saw Thailand become the first champions of ASEAN as they defeated Malaysia 1–0 in Singapore.[3] 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.

Most watched football tournaments in Southeast Asia.

The recent 2022 edition, saw the tournament return to a full home-and-away format, a decentralised approach first introduced for the 2018 edition. Instead of hosting the tournament entirely in one or two selected countries, each team plays two Group Stage games at home and two away matches, with the intention of allowing more supporters to attend the matches and back their national team on home soil, which in turn drove greater fan engagement for the event. Broadcast numbers of the 2020 edition has shown that the event is one of the most followed football tournament in several key in the Southeast Asian markets compared to global football competitions like the UEFA Euro 2020 and the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The 2020 edition brought in a TV audience of 266 million viewers, a 28% increase compared to 2018. The recent 2022 edition surpasses its own previous records to establish a new benchmark for TV viewership – the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2022 garnered an unprecedented audience of 305 million TV viewers, a 15% increase from 2020, further solidifying its position as one of the most-watched football tournaments in Southeast Asia.

Organisation

Sports marketing, media and event management firm, Lagardère Sports has been involved in the tournament since the inaugural edition in 1996.

Title sponsorship

Founded as the Tiger Cup after Singapore-based Asia Pacific Breweries brand Tiger Beer, it sponsored the competition from the competition's 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.[4] 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.[5]

Period Sponsor Name
1996 to 2004 Tiger Beer Tiger Cup
2007 No title sponsor AFF Championship
2008 to 2020 Suzuki AFF Suzuki Cup
2022 to present Mitsubishi Electric AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup

Format

From 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.[lower-alpha 1]

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.[6]

Results
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  Singapore
Thailand		 1–0
Malaysia
Vietnam		 3–2
Indonesia		 10 24 93
1998  Vietnam
Singapore		 1–0
Vietnam
Indonesia		 3–3 (a.e.t.)
(5–4 p)
Thailand		 8 16 55
2000  Thailand
Thailand		 4–1
Indonesia
Malaysia		 3–0
Vietnam		 9 20 67
2002  Indonesia
 Singapore
Thailand		 2–2 (a.e.t.)
(4–2 p)
Indonesia
Vietnam		 2–1
Malaysia		 9 20 92
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  Malaysia
 Vietnam
Singapore		 3–1
2–1
Indonesia
Malaysia		 2–1
Myanmar		 10 27 113
won 5–2 on aggregate
2007  Singapore
 Thailand
Singapore		 2–1
1–1
Thailand		  Malaysia and  Vietnam 8 18 50
won 3–2 on aggregate
2008  Indonesia
 Thailand
Vietnam		 2–1
1–1
Thailand		  Indonesia and  Singapore 8 18 56
won 3–2 on aggregate
2010  Indonesia
 Vietnam
Malaysia		 3–0
1–2
Indonesia		  Philippines and  Vietnam 8 18 51
won 4–2 on aggregate
2012  Malaysia
 Thailand
Singapore		 3–1
0–1
Thailand		  Malaysia and  Philippines 8 18 48
won 3–2 on aggregate
2014  Singapore
 Vietnam
Thailand		 2–0
2–3
Malaysia		  Philippines and  Vietnam 8 18 65
won 4–3 on aggregate
2016  Myanmar
 Philippines
Thailand		 1–2
2–0
Indonesia		  Myanmar and  Vietnam 8 18 50
won 3–2 on aggregate
2018  ASEAN
Vietnam		 2–2
1–0
Malaysia		  Philippines and  Thailand 10 26 80
won 3–2 on aggregate
2020[lower-alpha 2]  Singapore[lower-alpha 3]
Thailand[lower-alpha 4]		 4–0
2–2
Indonesia[lower-alpha 4]		  Singapore and  Vietnam 10 26 88
won 6–2 on aggregate
2022  ASEAN
Thailand		 2–2
1–0
Vietnam		  Indonesia and  Malaysia 10 26 90
won 3–2 on aggregate

Performances by country
Team Champions Runners-up
 Thailand 7 (1996, 2000, 2002, 2014, 2016, 2020, 2022) 3 (2007, 2008, 2012)
 Singapore 4 (1998, 2004, 2007, 2012) –
 Vietnam 2 (2008, 2018) 2 (1998, 2022)
 Malaysia 1 (2010) 3 (1996, 2014, 2018)
 Indonesia – 6 (2000, 2002, 2004, 2010, 2016, 2020)
Total1414

Participating nations
Team Singapore
1996
(10)		 Vietnam
1998
(8)		 Thailand
2000
(9)		 Indonesia
Singapore
2002
(9)		 Malaysia
Vietnam
2004
(10)		 Singapore
Thailand
2007
(8)		 Indonesia
Thailand
2008
(8)		 Indonesia
Vietnam
2010
(8)		 Malaysia
Thailand
2012
(8)		 Singapore
Vietnam
2014
(8)		 Myanmar
Philippines
2016
(8)		 ASEAN
2018
(10)		 Singapore
2020
(10)		 ASEAN
2022
(10)		 Total
 Australia Not an AFF member×××××0
 Brunei GS•××ו•×••••×GS2
 Cambodia GS•GSGSGS•GS•••GSGSGSGS9
 Indonesia 4th3rd2nd2nd2ndGSSF2ndGSGS2ndGS2ndSF14
 Laos GSGSGSGSGSGSGSGSGSGS•GSGSGS13
 Malaysia 2ndGS3rd4th3rdSFGS1stSF2ndGS2ndGSSF14
 Myanmar GSGSGSGS4thGSGSGSGSGSSFGSGSGS14
 Philippines GSGSGSGSGSGS•SFSFSFGSSFGSGS13
 Singapore GS1stGSGS1st1stSFGS1stGSGSGSSFGS14
 Thailand 1st4th1st1stGS2nd2ndGS2nd1st1stSF1st1st14
 Timor-Leste Part of Indonesia×GS••••••GSGS•3
 Vietnam 3rd2nd4th3rdGSSF1stSFGSSFSF1stSF2nd14
Legend

Notes

    Awards
    Tournament Most Valuable Player Top goalscorer(s) Goals Young Player of the Tournament Fair play award
    1996 Malaysia Zainal Abidin Hassan Thailand Natipong Sritong-In 7 Not awarded  Brunei
    1998 Vietnam Nguyễn Hồng Sơn Myanmar Myo Hlaing Win 4 Not awarded
    2000 Thailand Kiatisuk Senamuang Indonesia Gendut Doni Christiawan
    Thailand Worrawoot Srimaka    		 5  Malaysia
    2002 Thailand Therdsak Chaiman Indonesia Bambang Pamungkas 8 Not awarded
    2004 Singapore Lionel Lewis Indonesia Ilham Jaya Kesuma 7
    2007 Singapore Noh Alam Shah Singapore Noh Alam Shah 10
    2008 Vietnam Dương Hồng Sơn Indonesia Budi Sudarsono
    Singapore Agu Casmir
    Thailand Teerasil Dangda    		 4  Thailand
    2010 Indonesia Firman Utina Malaysia Safee Sali 5  Philippines
    2012 Singapore Shahril Ishak Thailand Teerasil Dangda 5  Malaysia
    2014 Thailand Chanathip Songkrasin Malaysia Safiq Rahim 6  Vietnam
    2016 Thailand Chanathip Songkrasin Thailand Teerasil Dangda 6  Thailand
    2018 Vietnam Nguyễn Quang Hải Thailand Adisak Kraisorn 8  Malaysia
    2020 Thailand Chanathip Songkrasin[lower-alpha 4] Malaysia Safawi Rasid
    Philippines Bienvenido Marañón

    Thailand Chanathip Songkrasin[lower-alpha 4]
    Thailand Teerasil Dangda[lower-alpha 4]

    		 4 Indonesia Pratama Arhan[lower-alpha 4]  Indonesia[lower-alpha 4]
    2022 Thailand Theerathon Bunmathan Thailand Teerasil Dangda
    Vietnam Nguyễn Tiến Linh    		 6 Indonesia Marselino Ferdinan  Malaysia

    Winning coaches
    AFF Championship-winning coaches
    Year Winning coaches National team
    1996 Thailand Thawatchai Sartjakul  Thailand
    1998 England Barry Whitbread  Singapore
    2000 England Peter Withe  Thailand
    2002 England Peter Withe (2)  Thailand
    2004 Serbia Radojko Avramović  Singapore
    2007 Serbia Radojko Avramović (2)  Singapore
    2008 Portugal Henrique Calisto  Vietnam
    2010 Malaysia K. Rajagopal  Malaysia
    2012 Serbia Radojko Avramović (3)  Singapore
    2014 Thailand Kiatisuk Senamuang[upper-alpha 1]  Thailand
    2016 Thailand Kiatisuk Senamuang (2)  Thailand
    2018 South Korea Park Hang-seo  Vietnam
    2020 Brazil Alexandré Pölking  Thailand[lower-alpha 4]
    2022 Brazil Alexandré Pölking (2)  Thailand
    Notes
    1. being the only person to win the competition as a player (1996, 2000, 2002) then coach (2014, 2016).

    All-time ranking table
    As of the 2022 edition
    Rank Team Part Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Best finish
    1 Thailand 148654201218896+92182 Champions (1996, 2000, 2002, 2014, 2016, 2020, 2022)
    2 Singapore 146633161711868+50115 Champions (1998, 2004, 2007, 2012)
    3 Vietnam 147941221616177+84145 Champions (2008, 2018)
    4 Malaysia 147534152613188+43117 Champions (2010)
    5 Indonesia 1476381721189129+60131 Runners-up (2000, 2002, 2004, 2010, 2016, 2020)
    6 Philippines 1348114335560–537 Semi-finalists (2010, 2012, 2014, 2018)
    7 Myanmar 14501582762110–4853 Semi-finalists (2004, 2016)
    8 Laos 1345263732170–13812 Group stage (13 times)
    9 Cambodia 934602839110–7118 Group stage (9 times)
    10 Timor-Leste 3120012650–440 Group stage (2004, 2018, 2020)
    11 Brunei 28107337–343 Group stage (1996, 2022)

    Records and statistics

    All time top goalscorers
    As of 2022 final
    Rank Player Goals
    1Thailand Teerasil Dangda25
    2Singapore Noh Alam Shah17
    3Thailand Worrawoot Srimaka15
    Vietnam Lê Công Vinh
    5Vietnam Lê Huỳnh Đức14
    6Thailand Adisak Kraisorn13
    Indonesia Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto
    8Indonesia Bambang Pamungkas12
    Thailand Kiatisuk Senamuang
    10Singapore Agu Casmir11
    11Singapore Khairul Amri10
    1. Bold denotes players still playing international football

    Other statistics
    See also: List of AFF Championship hat-tricks
    • 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

    Consecutive championships

    Biggest wins

    Most successful coach

    Most successful player

    Most goals scored in a single tournament

    Most goals scored in a match

    Most tournaments scored in

    First ever hat-trick

    Fastest hat-trick

    Youngest Player

    Youngest goal scorers

    Oldest Player

    Oldest goal scorers

    See also

    Notes
    1. Except the 2020 edition due to all matches being hosted in centralized venue, Singapore.
    2. Postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
    3. The 2020 AFF Championship was hosted in a centralized venue due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in Southeast Asia. On 28 September 2021, it was announced that Singapore would host the tournament.[7]
    4. 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.[8][9] The sanctions took effect in October 2021.[10] Thailand is represented by its national team logo while Indonesia is represented by its coat of arms.

    References
    1. Isu Mata FIFA Ranking Dalam Sejarah Kejohanan Piala AFF (in Malay) - Football Tribe, 13 November 2016.
    2. 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.
    3. "About AFF". aseanfootball.org. Archived from the original on 19 May 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
    4. "Global News News.2008 | Global Suzuki". www.globalsuzuki.com. Archived from the original on 4 October 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
    5. "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.
    6. "New format for AFF Suzuki Cup 2018 – AFF – The Official Website Of The Asean Football Federation". www.aseanfootball.org. Archived from the original on 30 December 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
    7. Noronha, Anselm (28 September 2021). "Singapore to host AFF Suzuki Cup 2020: Teams, how to watch & more | Goal.com". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 3 May 2022. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
    8. "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).
    9. "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.
    10. "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.
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