The latest addition to the FIFA tournament schedule concluded on Monday with the inaugural FIFA ASEAN Cup™ ending with hosts Indonesia beating Thailand 4-2 on penalties after a 2-2 draw in the final, in front of FIFA President Gianni Infantino. President of Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI), Erick Thohir, believes the FIFA ASEAN Cup represents the next stage of development for Southeast Asia as well as a signal of cooperation between FIFA and the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF).

The new tournament was created after FIFA and ASEAN renewed their Memorandum of Understanding at the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 26 October 2025. Run concurrently with the FIFA ASEAN Challenge Cup™ in Hong Kong, China, the two tournaments featured 14 teams, including all 11 ASEAN nations, giving the region’s national teams the chance to compete in a structured format designed to provide high-quality international football, strengthen regional connections and create new opportunities for fans to engage with the game. As well as the two finalists, the FIFA ASEAN Cup saw Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore joined by two guest nations, Bangladesh and Pakistan, both from the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF). Having successfully hosted the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2023™ and a FIFA Series™ in 2026, Indonesia was perfectly prepared to host the inaugural edition of the FIFA ASEAN Cup.

“The U-17 World Cup was an important opportunity for Indonesia to demonstrate its ability to host a major global youth tournament, while the FIFA Series gave our national team and other teams the opportunity to compete in a broader international environment,” said Mr Thohir. “But the FIFA ASEAN Cup is special because it brings FIFA’s global platform directly into the heart of Southeast Asian football. The FIFA ASEAN Cup has a different character. It is about bringing the region together through football. “As Indonesia, we are proud to host another FIFA event, but more importantly, we see this as part of a longer-term effort to develop football in Indonesia and contribute to the growth of football across Southeast Asia.”

Football in the ASEAN region has been consistently improving over the past decade, highlighted by achievements such as Indonesia reaching the knockout rounds of the AFC Asian Cup for the first time, Vietnam reaching their first final stage of AFC’s FIFA World Cup™ qualifying, and Philippines and Singapore securing maiden qualifications [not as hosts] for the AFC Asian Cup. There have also been long droughts broken with Thailand reaching the knockout stages of the AFC Asian Cup for the first time in 47 years, and Malaysia ending a 43-year drought by qualifying [not as hosts] for the AFC Asian Cup. Mr Thohir believes the FIFA ASEAN Cup can provide the springboard for continued development of the region, building upon the success of the past 10 years.

“ASEAN has tremendous football potential, but every country is at a different stage of development. A FIFA tournament provides teams with valuable international competition, while also giving players and coaches experience against different footballing styles,” he said. “ASEAN is a very passionate football community, and this tournament gives us an opportunity to showcase that passion while also strengthening connections between our national teams, players, fans and football communities. “For Indonesia, our objective is not only to develop our own national team. We also want to see the standard of football in Southeast Asia continue to rise. When the teams in our region become stronger, the competition becomes stronger, and that benefits everyone. A tournament like this can help create more international opportunities, encourage investment in football development and strengthen the football ecosystem across ASEAN.”