FIFA ASEAN Cup
Football tournament
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The FIFA ASEAN Cup is an upcoming international football competition sanctioned by FIFA for the men's national football teams of Southeast Asia.
| Organiser(s) | FIFA |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2026 |
| Region | Southeast Asia |
| Teams | Division 1: 8 Division 2: 6 |
 2026 FIFA ASEAN Cup | |
History
FIFA president Gianni Infantino announced the launch of the FIFA ASEAN Cup on 26 October 2025, following the signing of a memorandum of agreement at the 47th ASEAN Summit.[1][2][3] The ceremony in Kuala Lumpur was witnessed by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. Unilaterally initiated by FIFA, the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) prior to the announcement was unaware of a plan for a second Southeast Asian men's tournament.[4]
The AFF has organised the ASEAN Championship since 1996, and is regarded as the premier tournament of the men's national football teams of Southeast Asia. However, they are usually held outside the official FIFA international window, and thus clubs are not obliged to release their players for the ASEAN Championship.[5] The FIFA ASEAN Cup plan follows the FIFA Arab Cup, a FIFA tournament for teams in the West Asia and North Africa region.[4]
On 20 March 2026, FIFA announced it has already approved the FIFA ASEAN Cup following an online meeting with the first edition to be held in September to October, after the 2026 ASEAN Championship from July to August.[5][6]
On 7 May 2026, India confirmed its participation in the FIFA ASEAN Cup. AIFF Deputy Secretary General M Satyanarayan told Times of India, that AIFF has accepted FIFA's invitation and signed the participation agreement.[7] As a result, SAFF Championship 2026 will be held from 4–17 November 2026.[8]
On 5 June 2026, FIFA announced that the tournament would feature a total of fourteen teams split across two tiers, with Jakarta hosting the Division 1 matches, and Hong Kong hosting the Division 2 segment between September and October.[9] The Division 2 tournament in Hong Kong would involve six teams, including the host city, competing in a single round-robin group format. The top teams would advance to the championship finals, while the runners-up would compete in a third-place playoff.[10]
The Indonesian government has expressed support for the proposal the country to host a FIFA ASEAN Cup.[11]