The tournament regulations only stipulate symbolic and professional prizes. The champion team is awarded a souvenir cup and a gold medal, while the runner-up and third-place teams receive corresponding medals.
AFC also awards individual titles such as Best Player, Top Scorer, Best Goalkeeper and Fair-play, but without bonuses.
Instead of bonuses, AFC directly supports logistics for participating teams. Accordingly, U23 teams only have to pay for travel to the first match venue and leave the tournament after the last match, while accommodation, domestic transportation and stadium conditions during the final round are guaranteed by AFC in coordination with the host federation.
Similar regulations are also applied in the qualifying round to ensure fairness between teams and in accordance with the development nature of the youth tournament.
The failure to award bonuses at the AFC U23 Championship finals clearly reflects the AFC's orientation when considering this as a development playground, focusing on training, rubbing shoulders and preparing successor forces for national teams, instead of placing emphasis on financial or commercial factors.
Meanwhile, the bonuses for U23 Vietnam come from domestic sources. To date, the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) has awarded a total of 3.1 billion VND to the U23 team after the positive results at the tournament, thereby creating more motivation for the whole team to continue playing in the 2026 AFC U23 Championship finals.
The tournament regulations also stipulate very strict financial obligations and sanctions. Accordingly, teams or member federations that violate their participation obligations, do not fully perform official activities such as press conferences, technical meetings or media events as required by AFC may be fined at least 5,000 USD.
For more serious violations, such as not ensuring medical conditions or doping testing rooms, the fine can range from 10,000 to 40,000 USD.
The withdrawal from the tournament will be severely punished, with a fine of up to a minimum of 75,000 USD if withdrawing after the final round has started, along with the risk of being banned from participating in the next AFC U23 Championship.
