The tournament, initiated by FIFA, is scheduled to take place during the expanded international window from Sept. 21 to Oct. 6 this year. It will feature 11 Southeast Asian nations alongside three invited guest teams: China, India and Hong Kong.
Questionable motives and scheduling conflicts
Asyraf, 38, a football coach and consultant in Singapore, believes FIFA needs to be more transparent about its plan. He noted that the invited guest teams are not particularly prominent on the global stage, with China currently 94th, India 136th and Hong Kong 155th on the world ranking
He suggested that the world football governing body is primarily targeting highly populated, lucrative markets that failed to qualify for the World Cup.
“This looks more like a third-tier tournament trying to accommodate teams and creating a platform for them to compete, and possibly for FIFA to monetize the Chinese, Indian and ASEAN markets,” Asyraf told The Straits Times.
There’s also a conflict in the schedule. The region’s traditional flagship tournament, the ASEAN Cup (formerly the Tiger Cup or AFF Cup), will take place just a month prior. Instead of facing the exact same regional opponents twice, Asyraf argued that Southeast Asian teams would benefit far more from organizing friendly matches against stronger teams from across the continent.
Malaysian coach Raja Isa Raja Akram Syah has a similar opinion, warning that regional football risks running the same cycle over and over again.
“Teams in the region will struggle to develop if they constantly face familiar opponents,” Syah told She was. “They should try to face teams with higher FIFA rankings to gain experience and test their strength.”
Financial realtyy and FIFA recognition
The financial structure of the FIFA ASEAN Cup has also drawn skepticism. The tournament boasts an estimated total prize pool of US$4 million. The first division winner will receive $1 million, while the runner-up takes home $300,000. Every participating team are guaranteed a base participation bonus of $125,000.
However, Khairul finds these figures unconvincing.
“As it is, budgets for football associations in the region are stretched. The FIFA ASEAN Cup prize money is not that substantial compared to the cost of preparation, so it looks to me like a redundancy for now.”
The New Straits Times described the current state of Southeast Asian football as “crowded and somewhat chaotic,” noting the organization of two nearly identical ASEAN Cup tournaments in a single year, with the only difference being “FIFA” in the name. They suggested that FIFA and the ASEAN Football Federation should collaborate on a single, unified tournament.
Vietnam midfielder Nguyen Hoang Duc (number 14) during the 3-2 victory over Thailand in the second leg of the 2024 ASEAN final at the Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand on Jan. 5, 2025. Photo by Read/Duc Dong |
Despite the criticism from pundits, the FIFA ASEAN Cup maintains significant support from active players. Singapore national team captain Hariss Harun believes that official FIFA recognition is important and brings great benefits to the region.
“This could go a long way for football in this region. More recently, when more ASEAN players went on to play in Europe or in the bigger leagues, the tournament began to be deprived of the best players. Maybe the FIFA ASEAN Cup will allow the best of the best to be involved.”
The draft tournament outlines a first division consisting of Thailand, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, India, Malaysia and Singapore. The second division will include Hong Kong, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Brunei and Timor Leste.
The first division will be played at two centralized locations, one in Indonesia. The second division will be held in Hong Kong.
Each division will be divided into two groups, with teams playing a round-robin format. In both divisions, the top team from each group will advance to the finals, while the two second-placed teams will compete for third place. Matches to determine fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth place are not yet included. Therefore, participating teams will play a minimum of two and a maximum of four matches, fitting within a time frame of around 15 days.
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