What is the ASEAN Championship? Just days after Spain lifted the FIFA World Cup after beating Argentina, Southeast Asian football fans were already gearing up for the biggest competition in the region.
The 16th edition of the ASEAN Championship, or the Hyundai Cup, kicked off on July 24 with 10 teams from the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) taking part. The competition has been running since 1996 and has been held every two years for the most part.
The tournament is the premier men’s international competition in the Southeast region and has grown from a two-week-long format to four weeks of footballing action.
While at first, it may seem a regional competition of little importance, the attendance and TV figures and simply the passion of football fans in the region are not to be underestimated. With fans from ASEAN countries working or living in one or the other country and its current home and away format, the competition offers an excellent blend of many cultures and nationalities.
Stadiums across Southeast Asia turn into a sea of national colours whenever the tournament comes around, with fans in Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and beyond treating every match like a final in its own right. Regional rivalries such as Thailand vs. Vietnam, Indonesia vs. Malaysia, and others carry an intensity that rivals anything seen in the biggest derbies across the globe.
If you intend to follow this year’s competition and understand the format and see which teams are competing in this year’s edition, Curva Global has got you covered.
ASEAN Championship format
The format for the ASEAN Championship has followed a similar pattern for most of its history. Teams play in a home-or-away format in the group stage with home-and-away semifinal and final matches. This means every participating nation gets to experience the tournament locally, which cannot be said for many international competitions.
Nine highest-ranked teams in the region automatically qualify, with the 10th and 11th-ranked teams playing in a two-legged qualifier to determine the final spot. The tournament then sees ten teams divided into two groups of five each.
A round-robin format is followed with every team playing two home and two away fixtures. The top two teams from each group advance to the semi-finals, played over two legs. The winners of the semis then meet in a two-legged final.
The home and away format means there is great enthusiasm and chatter about football in the countries that host games frequently. This aids the popularity of the competition, which has grown organically over the years, and Southeast Asian audiences are madly in love with it.
ASEAN Championship teams
With the top nations from the AFF competing in the ASEAN Championship, the tournament is often stacked with high-profile games right from the group stages.
The 2026 edition has four-time champions Singapore pitted with defending champions Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, and Timor-Leste in Group A. Group B contains powerhouses Thailand, who have won the tournament a record seven times. They are placed with former champions Malaysia, Philippines, Myanmar, and Laos.
The fact that only four teams have ever won the ASEAN Championship highlights the quality of the tournament and how tough it is to get your hands on the prize.
This year, Singapore are hoping to add a fifth title and have been impressive in recent years, having qualified for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup. Malayasia are eyeing a first title since 2010, while football-mad Indonesia is hoping to win the tournament for the first time, having lost the final on six occasions.
Where to Watch ASEAN Championship 2026
All games of the ASEAN Championship 2026 will be available for broadcast or stream in every participating nation except Malaysia. Apart from this, China and South Korea have exclusive TV and streaming deals in place to show the matches. European fans can stream the tournament on the OneFootball app while fans around the world can watch the games on ASEANUTDFC, the official YouTube home of ASEAN football.
ASEAN HYUNDAI CUP 2026 – OFFICIAL BROADCASTERS
BRUNEI
- BTV Sport (Facebook)
- Radio Television Brunei (RTB TV)
- ASEAN UTD FC (Facebook, YouTube)
CAMBODIA
- Bayon TV (BTV News)
- BTV Sport (Facebook, Instagram)
INDONESIA
- MNC, RCTI, GTV, iNews (TV)
- Vision+ (OTT)
- SportsStars on Indovision and K-Vision (Pay TV)
- RCTI Sports (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/@RCTISports/streams
- iNews Premium Sports (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/@iNewsPremiumSports
- Zona Juara Sports (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/@ZonaJuaraSports
LAOS
- BTV Sport (Facebook)
- ASEAN UTD FC (Facebook, YouTube)
MYANMAR
- Skynet TV Sports-3
- ASEAN UTD FC (Facebook, YouTube)
PHILIPPINES
- PH Football Federation (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/phifootballfederation
- Cignal TV – OneSports, OneSports+
SINGAPORE
- Mediacorp – Channel 5 (TV)
- meWatch (OTT)
THAILAND
- TrueVisions – TrueSports 2, True Premier Football Channel
TIMOR-LESTE
- BTV Sport (Facebook)
- ASEAN UTD FC (Facebook, YouTube)
VIETNAM
- FPT Play (IPTV/OTT)
- FPT BongdaViet (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/@FPTBongDaViet
- FPT BongdaOfficial (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/@FPTBongDaOfficial
- Giacmovodich (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/@giacmovodich
- VTV6 (TV)
CHINA
- Qiujing (Douyin)
SOUTH KOREA
- SPOTV (TV)
REST OF THE WORLD
- OneFootball (ex-APAC) (OTT)
- ASEAN UTD FC (Facebook, YouTube)
