The 2022 AFF Championship (officially AFF

Mitsubishi Electric , established on 15 January 1921, is a Japanese multinational electronics and electrical equipment manufacturing company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the core companies of Mitsubishi. The products from MELCO include elevators an ...

Cup 2022 due to sponsorship reasons) was the 14th edition of the

AFF Championship The ASEAN Football Federation Championship (less formally the AFF Championship or AFF Cup), currently known as the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup for sponsorship reason, is the primary association football tournament organized by the ASEAN Football ...

, the

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

championship of nations affiliated to the

ASEAN Football Federation The ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) is an organisation within the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and is an international governing body of association football in Southeast Asia. It consists of the federations of Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, ...

(AFF) and was the 1st edition under the name AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup. The final tournament ran from 20 December 2022 to 16 January 2023.

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

were the defending champions, and won the tournament by a 3–2 aggregate score in the two-legged final against

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

to secure their seventh title.

Format

The AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2022 followed the

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

format, a change from the

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

format with a centralised venue due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in Southeast Asia The COVID-19 pandemic in Southeast Asia is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). It was confirmed to have spread to Southeast Asia on 13 Januar ...

. In the current format, the nine highest-ranked teams automatically qualifed with the 10th and 11th ranked teams playing in a two-legged qualifier. The 10 teams were split in two groups of five and play a round-robin system, with each team playing two home and two away fixtures.

Away goals rule The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaker, tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the ...

was applied, but not in extra-time. A draw was made to determine where the teams play while the format of the knockout round remained unchanged.

Qualification

Nine teams automatically qualified to the AFF Championship final tournament; they were separated into their respective pots based on their performance in the last two editions.

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely sur ...

and

Timor-Leste East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-weste ...

, the two lowest-ranked teams, played a two-legged tie to determine the 10th and final qualifier in November 2022, with Brunei hosting both legs due to Timor-Leste lacking a FIFA-standard venue. Brunei secured qualification, and their second appearance in the tournament after 26 years, by defeating Timor-Leste 6–3 on aggregrate.

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, a member since 2013, still decided not to debut at the tournament.

Draw

The draw for the 2022 AFF Championship was held on 30 August 2022 in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

at 14:00 ( GMT+07:00). The pot placements followed each teams' progress based on the two previous editions. At the time of the draw, the identity of the team that secured qualification was unknown and was automatically placed into Pot 5.

qualified for the final tournament by defeating

Squads

Each team were allowed a preliminary squad of 50 players. A final squad of 23 players (three of whom must be goalkeepers) needed to be registered.

Officials

The following officials were chosen for the competition. Referees * Chen Hsin-chuan * Tam Ping Wun * Yusuke Araki *

Jumpei Iida is a Japanese football referee. He has officiated matches in numerous international tournaments including EAFF Championship and AFC Cup. Locally he has officiated regularly in the J. League. In 2012, he officiated in the English FA Cup and Pro ...

* Hiroki Kasahara *

Ryuji Sato is an international football referee from Japan. He has refereed many matches in the AFC Champions League and FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competiti ...

Yudai Yamamoto is a Japanese professional football referee. He has been a full international for FIFA since 2011.FIFA"Japan: Referees" He refereed some matches in AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continenta ...

Adham Makhadmeh Adham Mohammad Tumah Makhadmeh ( ar, ادهم المخادمة; born 1986) is a Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of ...

* Ahmed Faisal Al Ali *

Omar Al-Yaqoubi Omar Al-Yaqoubi ( ar, عمر اليعقوبي; born 3 July 1987) is an Omani association football referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sports ...

* Mohammed Al Hoaish * Majed Al Shamrani * Choi Hyun-jai * Kim Dae-yong *

Kim Hee-gon Kim Hee-gon (Korean: 김희곤; born on 4 November 1985) is a South Korean football referee who is a listed international referee for FIFA since 2013. He was active in the AFC Champions League, AFC Cup, and AFF Suzuki Cup, and was also a socc ...

* Kim Jong-hyeok * Ko Hyung-jin * Omar Mohamed Al Ali * Aziz Asimov Assistant referees * Mohammad Faisal Ali * Chen Hsiao-en * So Kai Man * Nurhadi Sulchan * Bambang Syamsudar * Yusuke Hamamoto * Jun Mihara * Isao Nishihashi * Takumi Takagi * Yosuke Takebe * Kota Watanabe * Hamza Abuobead * Mohammad Alkalaf * Ahmad Alroalle * Ahmad Mansour Samara Muhsen * Bang Gi-yeol * Jang Jong-pil * Kang Dong-ho * Kwak Seung-soon * Park Kyun-yong * Park Sang-jun * Song Bong-keun * Omar Ali Al Jamal * Faisal Nasser Al Qahtani * Abdulrahim Al Shammari * Khalaf Zaid Al Shammari * Fahad Awaiedh Al Umri * Kilar Ladsavong * Mohd Arif Shamil Abdul Rasid * Hamed Talib Al Ghafri * Faisal Eid Alshammari * Juma Al Burshaid * Yousuf Al Shamari * Ronnie Koh Min Kiat * Apichit Nophuan * Tanate Chuchuen * Supawan Hinthong * Pattarapong Kijsathit * Jasem Abdulla Al Ali * Timur Gaynullin * Nguyễn Trung Hậu Fourth officials * Abdul Hakim Mohd Haidi * Chy Samdy *

Thoriq Alkatiri Thoriq Munir Alkatiri (born 19 November 1988) is an Indonesian professional football referee. He has been a full international for FIFA since 2014. Career Thoriq has refereed in the Indonesia Super League (now Liga 1) since 2013, being promo ...

* Xaypaseuth Phongsanit * Souei Vongkham * Yassin Tuan Mohd Hanafiah * Muhammad Usaid Jamal * Muhammad Nazmi Nasaruddin * Mohd Amirul Izwan Yaacob * Kyaw Zaw Lwin * Clifford Daypuyat * Songkran Bunmeekiart * Pansa Chaisanit * Mongkolchai Pechsri * Sivakorn Pu-Udom * Warintorn Sassadee * Torphong Somsing * Ahmad A'Qashah * Muhammad Taqi Al Jaafari * Ngô Duy Lân

Venues

There was one venue for each participating nation in the tournament, with each nation getting two group matches played in their home stadium. Brunei played their home matches at Malaysia's

Kuala Lumpur Stadium The Kuala Lumpur Stadium or KLFA Stadium ( ms, Stadium Bola Sepak Kuala Lumpur) is a multi-purpose stadium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Kuala Lumpur City. Background I ...

due to their own stadium did not met the standards.

Gelora Bung Karno Stadium Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium ( id, Stadion Utama Gelora Bung Karno; literally "Bung Karno Sports Arena Main Stadium"), formerly Senayan Main Stadium and Gelora Senayan Main Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium located at the center of the Gel ...

were attended by spectators with a capacity of 70 percent of the total number of seats, which was around 50,000 seats. The decision for a maximum attendance capacity of 70 percent were based on the risk assessment and trials for further implementation.

Group stage

;Tiebreakers Ranking in each group shall be determined as follows: # Greater number of points obtained in all the group matches; # Goal difference in all the group matches; # Greater number of goals scored in all the group matches. If two or more teams are equal on the basis on the above three criteria, the place shall be determined as follows: # Result of the direct match between the teams concerned; #

Penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pen ...

if only the teams are tied, and they met in the last round of the group; # Drawing lots by the Organising Committee.

Group A

---- ---- ---- ----

Group B

---- ---- ---- ----

Knockout stage

Bracket

Semi-finals

;First leg ---- ;Second leg ''

won 2–0 on aggregate.'' ''

won 3–1 on aggregate.''

Final

;First leg ---- ;Second leg ''

won 3–2 on aggregate.''

Statistics

Winner

Awards

Goalscorers

Discipline

In the tournament, a player will be suspended for the subsequent match in the competition for either getting red card or accumulating two yellow cards in two different matches. On 3 January 2023, AFF confirmed that Azam Azmi would be suspended for two matches, and would be absent against

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

and the semi-finals first leg against

Tournament teams ranking

This table will show the ranking of teams throughout the tournament.

Marketing

Matchballs

The official ball for the 2022 edition is called BERSATU, which is sponsored by Warrix Sports. This is the second edition that Warrix has been designated as the ''Official Match Ball and Sports Apparel Supplier'' of the Championship.

Sponsorship

* Source:

Media coverage

Incidents and controversies

The Group B match between

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

and

was marred by controversy, when

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

referee

who officiated the match gave a sudden controversial decision to award a

penalty Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalty ...

to Vietnam following a clash between Malaysian Azam Azmi and Vietnamese

Đoàn Văn Hậu Đoàn Văn Hậu (born 19 April 1999), is a Vietnamese professional footballer who plays as a left-back for V.League 1 club Công An Hà Nội and the Vietnam national team. Club career Hanoi Văn Hậu became a regular part of his club H ...

outside the penalty box which saw Azam being sent off, although a similar foul made by Văn Hậu towards Azam was ignored by the same referee. A complaint was made by the

Football Association of Malaysia The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM, ms, Persatuan Bola Sepak Malaysia) is the national governing body of football in Malaysia responsible for organising the Malaysia national football team within the country. The Football Association of ...

(FAM) towards the

(AFF) regarding the "perceived biasedness of Sato's officiating conduct" since a similar incident had also occurred before in another Malaysia-Vietnam encounter during

2022 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2022 FIFA World Cup qualificationAlso the "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Qualifiers". was the qualifying process which decided the 31 teams that would join hosts Qatar, who received an automatic spot, at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Parallel tour ...

held in the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

. Through the letter, FAM requested for Sato to never be refereeing any matches involving Malaysia in the future. Nevertheless, earlier before the controversial decision was made, Sato announced that 2022 would be the last year of his refereeing career when he announced his retirement by the end of the year. On 3 January 2023, AFF responded to FAM's letter by giving Azam a two-match ban, where he would miss Malaysia's last group stage match against

and the semi-final first leg against

. Azam also needed to pay a fine of US$1,000 that had to be settled in 30 days. The decisions were not appealable. Before the Group A match between

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

and

, a bus that transported the Thai team was disturbed and halted by Indonesian

hooligan Hooliganism is disruptive or unlawful behavior such as rioting, bullying and vandalism, usually in connection with crowds at sporting events. Etymology There are several theories regarding the origin of the word ''hooliganism,'' which is a d ...

s, which resulted in the bus needing to be escorted and the

heavily guarded by the

Indonesian National Armed Forces , founded = as the ('People's Security Forces') , current_form = , disbanded = , branches = , headquarters = Cilangkap, Jakarta , website = , commander-in-chief = Joko Widodo , ...

(TNI), Public Order Agency (Satpol PP), firefighters and medical workers. During the match, home fans snatched a Thai flag, stepped and sat on it. Following the incidents, the

Football Association of Thailand The Football Association of Thailand under Patronage of His Majesty the King ( th, สมาคมกีฬาฟุตบอลแห่งประเทศไทย ในพระบรมราชูปถัมภ์), or FA Thailand for s ...

(FAT) sent an official complaint to AFF with the

Football Association of Indonesia The Football Association of Indonesia ( id, Persatuan Sepakbola Seluruh Indonesia; 'All-Indonesian Football Association'; abbreviated as PSSI) is the governing body of Football soccer, football in Indonesia. It was founded on 19 April 1930, fif ...

(PSSI) expressing their apology and urging leaders and liaisons for supporters to further ensure that further incidents were prevented. FIFA later asked Indonesia to tighten their security for their upcoming match against Vietnam. The attendance seats for the upcoming 1st leg semi-final match between Malaysia and Thailand in

Bukit Jalil national stadium The Bukit Jalil National Stadium (Malay: Stadium Nasional Bukit Jalil) in Bukit Jalil, located in the National Sports Complex to the south of the city centre of Malaysia's capital city, Kuala Lumpur, is an all-seater multi-purpose stadium and t ...

was only available for 59,000 seats, where 21,000 seats had to be vacant due to a world tour concert by

Jay Chou Jay Chou ( zh, t=周杰倫, s=周杰伦, poj=Chiu Kia̍t-lûn, p=Zhōu Jiélún, first=t, w=Chou Chieh-lun; born January 18, 1979) is a Taiwanese singer, songwriter, record producer, rapper, actor, and television personality. Dubbed the " King ...

on which the singer also held a concert at

National Stadium Many countries have a national sport stadium, which typically serves as the primary or exclusive home for one or more of a country's national representative sports teams. The term is most often used in reference to an association football stadiu ...

earlier, which forced Singapore to use

Jalan Besar Stadium Jalan Besar Stadium, officially the Jalan Besar ActiveSG Stadium, is a association football, football stadium located in Kallang, Singapore. The stadium is part of the Jalan Besar Sports and Recreation Centre, a community sports facility that i ...

instead. Originally due to be held on 3 January 2023, which fell on the same matchday between Malaysia and Singapore, however it got postponed to 15 January 2023. The Malaysian government and FAM hardly tried to make negotiations and appeals, however a decision was not applied. This stirred some Malaysian football fans to throw hate to the singer's social media account instead. On 7 January 2023, Chou finally stated that he could delay the concert, with a permission from FAM. To relief the disappointments among many of the football fans who were unable to attend due to limited spots in the stadium caused by the issues, the Malaysian government in collaboration with local authorities erected 14 big screens in chosen locations nationwide. Earlier before the 1st leg match between Malaysia and Thailand in Kuala Lumpur, the

Royal Malaysia Police The Royal Malaysia Police (often abbreviated RMP) ( ms, Polis Diraja Malaysia (PDRM)), is a (primarily) uniformed national and federal police force in Malaysia. The force is a centralised organisation. Its headquarters are located at Bukit Aman ...

(PDRM) announced that a security measure which included body checks as well as bags and items checks would be carried out at each entrance and after entering the stadium grounds. The police released a list of prohibited items that were not allowed to be brought into the stadium such as

firecracker A firecracker (cracker, noise maker, banger) is a small explosive device primarily designed to produce a large amount of noise, especially in the form of a loud bang, usually for celebration or entertainment; any visual effect is incidental t ...

fireworks Fireworks are a class of Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a l ...

flares A flare, also sometimes called a fusée, fusee, or bengala in some Latin-speaking countries, is a type of pyrotechnic that produces a bright light or intense heat without an explosion. Flares are used for distress signaling, illumination, o ...

helmet A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protect ...

laser pen A laser pointer or laser pen is a small handheld device with a power source (usually a battery) and a laser diode emitting a very narrow coherent low-powered laser beam of visible light, intended to be used to highlight something of interest by ...

s, sharp objects and

alcoholic beverage An alcoholic beverage (also called an alcoholic drink, adult beverage, or a drink) is a drink that contains ethanol, a type of alcohol that acts as a drug and is produced by fermentation of grains, fruits, or other sources of sugar. The c ...

s. This included

umbrella An umbrella or parasol is a folding canopy supported by wooden or metal ribs that is usually mounted on a wooden, metal, or plastic pole. It is designed to protect a person against rain or sunlight. The term ''umbrella'' is traditionally used ...

s or

walking stick A walking stick or walking cane is a device used primarily to aid walking, provide postural stability or support, or assist in maintaining a good posture. Some designs also serve as a fashion accessory, or are used for self-defense. Walking sti ...

powerbank A battery charger, recharger, or simply charger is a device that stores energy in a Electric battery, battery by running an electric current through it. The charging protocol (how much voltage or Current source, current for how long, and what to d ...

water bottle A water bottle is a container that is used to hold liquids, mainly water, for the purpose of transporting a drink with oneself while travelling or while otherwise away from a supply of potable water. A water bottle is usually made of plastic, g ...

lighter A lighter is a portable device which creates a flame, and can be used to ignite a variety of items, such as cigarettes, gas lighter, fireworks, candles or campfires. It consists of a metal or plastic container filled with a flammable liquid or c ...

s and

cigarette A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhaled via the opp ...

s (including

electronic cigarette An electronic cigarette is an electronic device that simulates tobacco smoking. It consists of an atomizer, a power source such as a battery, and a container such as a cartridge or tank. Instead of smoke, the user inhales vapor. As such ...

s). Despite this preventive measures, as seen during the match, some Malaysian fans were still able to smuggle prohibited items into the stadium when some of them were seen pointing green laser lights towards Thai defender

Pansa Hemviboon Pansa Hemviboon ( th, พรรษา เหมวิบูลย์, born 8 July 1990) is a Thai professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Thai League 1 club Buriram United and the Thailand national team. International career In M ...

as well as towards the left side face of referee of the match Kim Dae-yong, especially after the second goal of Malaysia from their centre-back player

Dominic Tan Dominic Tan Jun Jin (; born 12 March 1997) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Malaysia Super League club Sabah. Born in Singapore, he represents the Malaysia national football team. Early life and education Tan who w ...

was disallowed by the referee due to collision with the Thai player.

Notes

References

External links

* of the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup * of the ASEAN Football Federation {{AFF Championship AFF Championship tournaments 1 1 2022 in Brunei football 2022 in Burmese football 2022 in Cambodian football

2022 in Laotian football 2022 in Malaysian football 2022 in Philippine football 2022 in Thai football 2022 in Singaporean football 2022 in Vietnamese football

AFF #REDIRECT AFF Aff comes from Brazil and comes from the great general Barbaros Kee. it comes from that he often used to say Aff when he did something. {{R from other capitalisation ...

2023 in Thai football