SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/ANN): The winners of the inaugural Fifa Asean Cup can expect to receive US$1 million (S$1.28 million) in prize money from football’s world governing body.
That is more than three times the US$300,000 which the Asean Football Federation (AFF) awarded Vietnam for winning the 2024 Asean Championship.
On Oct 26, 2025, FIFA president Gianni Infantino had announced the launch of the new tournament for 11 South-East Asian teams on the sidelines of the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur.
Five months later, FIFA said in a statement that the competition will be played in the Sept 21-Oct 6, 2026 international window, but details were still lacking.
At a FIFA congress in Vancouver, Canada, on April 30, it gave more clarity through the circulation to participating countries of some slides, which seemed to confirm speculation that the Asean Cup will be a two-division event featuring 14 teams.
Documents seen by The Straits Times showed that the proposed format will see eight teams split into two groups in Division 1, with another six teams divided into two groups in Division 2.
Matches from one group in Division 1 will be played in Indonesia, with the other venue yet to be confirmed, while all Division 2 games will take place in Hong Kong.
Other than Hong Kong, there is speculation that China and India will also be invited. World rankings are likely to determine the composition of each division, making a promotion-relegation system unlikely.
Based on current world rankings, this means Division 1 will comprise world No. 93 Thailand, China (94), Vietnam (99) Indonesia (122), the Philippines (135), India (136), Malaysia (138) and Singapore (147).
tHong Kong (155), Myanmar (158), Cambodia (177), Laos (185), Brunei (193) and Timor-Leste (200) will make up Division 2.
There will not be any semi-finals after the round-robin games. Instead, the group winners will play against each other to determine each division’s champions, while the runners-up will face off for third and fourth spots, meaning each team will play two to four matches.
Every team can expect to be guaranteed a US$125,000 participation fee and can also earn bonuses for each win or draw.
A grand prize of US$1 million awaits the Division 1 champions, while the Division 2 winners will receive US$300,000. Including rewards for runners-up and third-place finishers, the prize purse is expected to exceed US$4 million.
With FIFA expected to formalise its Asean Cup and share further details by June 1, the Lions look set for a jam-packed build-up to the Jan 7-Feb 5, 2027 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia, after securing maiden qualification last November. They had also played in the 1984 edition as hosts.
They will play friendlies with 187th-ranked Mongolia and China at the Jalan Besar Stadium on May 31 and June 5, respectively.
Following that, they will do battle in the July 24-Aug 26 Asean Championship.
The Lions have been drawn into Group A where they will take on Cambodia (away, July 24), Brunei or Timor-Leste (home, July 27), Vietnam (away, July 31) and Indonesia (home, Aug 7).
