AFF Championship 2025/26

The AFF Championship operates as the premier senior men's national team football competition in Southeast Asia, organized by the ASEAN Football Federation. Unlike domestic leagues, it sits outside national pyramids, serving as a sub-regional equivalent to the AFC Asian Cup but limited strictly to member associations. The tournament is biennial and distinguishes itself by not serving as a direct qualifier for the AFC Asian Cup or FIFA World Cup, which are managed separately by the AFC and FIFA.

Founded in 1996, the competition has undergone several name changes reflecting title sponsors, most recently becoming the ASEAN Hyundai Cup in 2026 with Hyundai Motor as the sponsor. Since the 2018 edition, the final tournament features all ten AFF member nations split into two groups of five. Teams play a round-robin schedule with home and away matches within their group. The top two teams from each group advance to the knockout stage, which consists of two-legged semi-finals and a two-legged final. The away goals rule is not applied; ties are decided by extra time and penalty shootouts.

Thailand is the most successful nation with seven titles. Vietnam is the current champion, having defeated Thailand 5-3 on aggregate in the 2024 final. Singapore holds four titles, and Malaysia one. Notable records include Thailand's dominance and the shift from single-match finals before 2004 to two-legged ties. Historically lower-ranked teams such as Brunei, Timor-Leste, or Cambodia have played qualifying play-offs to enter the main tournament when the field was smaller or to determine seeding. The inaugural tournament was hosted by Singapore and marketed as the Tiger Cup due to a sponsorship with Asia Pacific Breweries. The competition has evolved significantly from its earlier centrally hosted format.