SINGAPORE – 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, 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 held in Vancouver, Canada on April 30, it gave more clarity through the circulation of some slides to participating countries 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 One, with another six teams divided into two groups in Division Two.

Matches from one group in Division One will be played in Indonesia, with the other venue yet to be confirmed, while all Division Two 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 ranking, this means Division One will comprise world No. 93 Thailand, China (94th), Vietnam (99th), Indonesia (122nd), ...