The ASEAN Championship, now named the ASEAN Hyundai Cup™, is the jewel in the crown of ASEAN football, with 11 top ASEAN national teams battling for regional supremacy biennially. Since the ASEAN Championship’s inception in 1996, it has grown from a two-week-long centralised tournament into a competition that is played in a home-or-away format in the group stage, with home-and-away semi-final and final matches across Southeast Asia over four weeks.

2026 marks the 30th anniversary of the competition and its 16th edition, underscoring the tournament’s enduring importance in ASEAN football and among its fans, with a new title partner, Hyundai Motor Company, driving the continued expansion of the region’s premier tournament during this new era.

Thailand won the inaugural ASEAN Championship in Singapore in 1996 with a 1–0 victory over Malaysia in the final, and the War Elephants are the competition's most successful team with seven titles, following further victories in 2000, 2002, 2014, 2016, 2020 and 2022.

The Thais were denied an eighth championship in 2024 after they were beaten 5–3 on aggregate in the final by Vietnam, who claimed their third championship after victories in 2008 and 2018. Singapore are the competition's second most successful team with four championships in 1998, 2004, 2007 and 2012, while Malaysia were crowned ASEAN champions in 2010.

Since its inauguration, the ASEAN Championship has widened its footprint and cultural impact significantly across Southeast Asia, establishing itself as the region’s most watched and followed football event. In 2024, the tournament generated a cumulative 541.5 million TV and digital viewers across 2,595 broadcast hours throughout ASEAN markets. Social media engagement also reached unprecedented levels, with Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and X delivering 12.6 billion video views and 6 billion impressions, while combined online and print media coverage achieved a potential reach of 19.6 billion, reflecting the tournament’s broad visibility and resonance across the region.

 

THE ASEAN HYUNDAI CUP™ 2026 COMPETITION FORMAT

 

The competition format includes a Qualifying Round Play-off in which the two lowest-ranking teams compete in home-and-away matches to secure a place with the nine other ASEAN national teams in the main group stage.

The 10 qualifying teams are drawn into two groups of five for the round-robin group-stage matches, which will be played on a home-or-away basis. The top two finishers in each group will advance to the home-and-away semi-finals, with the winners of those ties facing off for the title in the final, which will also be played over two legs.

 

 

THE ASEAN HYUNDAI CUP™ 2026 PARTICIPATING NATIONS

 

 

Brunei Darussalam
Brunei Darussalam’s appearance in the group phase of the ASEAN Championship in 2022 marked the first time they had qualified for the tournament since the inaugural event in 1996. They narrowly missed out on qualification in 2024 after a 1–0 aggregate loss to Timor-Leste in a play-off.

Cambodia
Cambodia have made 10 appearances in the ASEAN Championship and, while they have yet to advance to the knock-out rounds, they have made progress in recent years. The Angkor Warriors recorded wins against the Philippines and Brunei Darussalam to finish third in their group in 2022 and held Malaysia to a 2–2 draw in 2024 as they went close to a runner-up finish in their group.

Indonesia
Indonesia’s place among the elite of Southeast Asian football is undisputed, but the region’s most populous nation has yet to win the ASEAN Championship in 15 previous attempts. They have been runners-up on six occasions, the most recent in 2020, with that record including three consecutive second-place finishes in 2000, 2002 and 2004. The others came in 2010 and 2016.

Laos
While Laos have appeared in all but one of the previous 15 editions of the ASEAN Championship, they have yet to progress past the group stage. However, Thim Xad have often proven to be tricky opponents, as was the case in 2024 when they held Indonesia and the Philippines to draws and went close to a win against Myanmar before conceding two late goals in a 3–2 defeat.

Malaysia
Malaysia have won the ASEAN Championship once, in 2010, with victory over Indonesia in the final as K. Rajagopal’s side ended the nation’s frustrations at regional level. The Malaysians have twice gone close to reclaiming the title, finishing as runners-up in 2014 and 2018 before being eliminated in the semi-finals in 2022. They were also runners-up in the inaugural edition in 1996, losing to Thailand in the final.

Myanmar
Myanmar have reached the knock-out rounds of the ASEAN Championship on two occasions with runs to the semi-finals in 2004 and 2016, when they bowed out to the eventual champions Singapore and Thailand respectively. They were in position to reach the last four again in 2024 after a draw with the Philippines and a dramatic comeback win against Laos, but bowed out after a defeat to Vietnam in their last group game.

Philippines
Since they reached the last four of the ASEAN Championship for the first time in 2010, the Philippines have appeared in the knock-out rounds in five of the last eight tournaments. They advanced to the semi-finals in 2024 after a 1–0 win in Indonesia and beat Thailand 2–1 in the first leg of their semi-final before bowing out 4–3 on aggregate after a dramatic extra-time encounter in Bangkok.

Singapore
Singapore are the second-most successful team in the ASEAN Championship with four titles, the first coming after a win over Vietnam in Hanoi in 1998 and the other three following in 2004, 2007 and 2012 under the guidance of head coach Radojko Avramović. While the Lions’ fortunes have waned in recent years, they made it to the semi-finals in 2024 before being eliminated by eventual champions Vietnam.

Thailand
Thailand have been the dominant force in Southeast Asian football over the past three decades, winning the inaugural ASEAN Championship in 1996 and six further titles in 2000, 2002, 2014, 2016, 2020 and 2022. The War Elephants reached the final for a record 11th time in 2024 but missed out on an unprecedented eighth regional title after they were beaten 5–3 on aggregate by Vietnam.

Timor-Leste
Timor-Leste made their ASEAN Championship debut in 2004 but went out in the qualifying rounds in the next six tournaments before securing a place in the group stage in three of the last four editions. While they have yet to avoid defeat in the group phase, they nearly picked up their first points in 2024 when they frustrated Malaysia, Singapore and Cambodia for long periods before losing to late goals.

Vietnam
Vietnam were crowned ASEAN champions for the third time in 2024 when they defeated Thailand 5–3 on aggregate in the final, exacting revenge on the defending champions who had beaten them in the 2022 final. The Golden Star Warriors claimed their first success in 2008 when Lê Công Vinh’s stoppage-time strike secured victory against Thailand and regained the title in 2018 by beating Malaysia 3–2 on aggregate.