This figure is much higher than the 300,000 USD that the Vietnamese team received from the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) after winning the ASEAN Cup 2024.
At the end of 2025, the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) announced the organization of a new tournament for 11 teams in Southeast Asia, named FIFA ASEAN Cup.
According to the schedule, the first tournament will take place from September 21st to October 6th this year, but the detailed schedule has not yet been announced. This tournament will take place immediately after the ASEAN Cup 2026, from July 24th to August 26th, 2026.
Singaporean media has revealed some important details about the first FIFA ASEAN Cup. Accordingly, this tournament may have 14 participating teams, divided into two groups.
Group 1 has 8 teams, divided into 2 groups. Group 2 has 6 teams, also divided into 2 groups. One group in group 1 will play in Indonesia, the other group has not yet determined the location. Group 2, all matches take place in Singapore.
In addition to 11 teams in Southeast Asia, FIFA ASEAN Cup 2026 is expected to have 3 more teams participating: the Indian team, the Chinese team and the Hong Kong (China) team.
Based on the FIFA rankings, group 1 will include the national teams of China, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, India, Malaysia and Singapore. Group 2 will include the teams of Hong Kong (China), Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Timor-Leste, Brunei.
The competition format will not have semi-finals, the first-placed team in the groups from each group will meet in the final, the second-placed team will compete for third place. The total prize value of the tournament is expected to be 4 million USD. In which, the champion of group 1 receives 1 million USD, the runner-up receives 300,000 USD. Each team participating in the tournament receives 125,000 USD for preparation.
It is expected that on June 1st, FIFA will detail FIFA ASEAN Cup 2026. All information at this time is still at the level of speculation.
If FIFA ASEAN Cup 2026 has an expansion in the number of teams, with the participation of teams such as India, China, the competitiveness of the tournament will be higher than ASEAN Cup (formerly AFF Cup, which is only for Southeast Asian teams).
In addition, with the name FIFA, the tournament promises to bring more revenue, sponsorship and attraction. Teams in the region can also send their strongest forces to participate.
For the Vietnamese team, as the reigning Southeast Asian champion, this tournament is a great opportunity for coach Kim Sang-sik and his team. In addition to playing against strong, highly competitive teams and attractive prizes, the tournament is also a good opportunity for the team to prepare for the 2027 Asian Cup early next year.
