The 2022 AFF Championship (officially AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2022 due to sponsorship reasons) was the 14th edition of the AFF Championship, the football championship of nations affiliated to the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) and was the 1st edition under the name AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup.
The tournament returned to its usual two-year cycle, after the 2020 AFF Championship was postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The final tournament ran from 20 December 2022 to 16 January 2023.
Thailand were the defending champions, and won the tournament by a 3–2 aggregate score in the two-legged final against its rivals, Vietnam to secure their seventh title. Alexandré Pölking, became the 4th coach to win multiple titles, the first being on the 2020 edition.
Format The AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2022 followed the 2018 format, a change from the 2020 format with a centralised venue due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Southeast Asia.
In the current format, the nine highest-ranked teams automatically qualified 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 was applied after 90 minutes, 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 and Timor-Leste, 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 aggregate, thus ensuring all 10 ASEAN members have their respective teams in the competition.
Australia, a member since 2013, did not enter the tournament.
TeamAppearancePrevious best performance2ndGroup stage (1996)9thGroup stage (1996, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2016, 2018, 2020)14thRunners-up (2000, 2002, 2004, 2010, 2016, 2020)13thGroup stage (1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2018, 2020)14thWinners (2010)14thFourth place (2004), Semi-finalists (2016)13thSemi-finalists (2010, 2012, 2014, 2018)14thWinners (1998, 2004, 2007, 2012)14thWinners (1996, 2000, 2002, 2014, 2016, 2020)14thWinners (2008, 2018)
Draw The draw for the 2022 AFF Championship was held on 30 August 2022 in Bangkok, Thailand at 14:00 (GMT+07:00). The pot placements followed each teams' progress based on the two previous editions. If the results are equal, the most recent tournament will be given priority.
At the time of the draw, the identity of the team that secured qualification was unknown and was automatically placed into Pot 5. Brunei qualified for the final tournament by defeating Timor-Leste. +Ranking in the two previous tournamentsPotsTeams2020201811323122624274.53454.5544.54856.5787.55999n/a
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 Hiroki Kasahara Ryuji Sato Yudai Yamamoto Adham Makhadmeh Ahmed Faisal Al Ali Omar Al-Yaqoubi Mohammed Al Hoaish Majed Al-Shamrani Choi Hyun-jai Kim Dae-yong Kim Hee-gon Kim Jong-hyeok Ko Hyung-jin - Final (Second leg) Thailand - Vietnam 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 Adel Abu Obaid Mohammad Al Kalaf Ahmad Al Roalleh Ahmad Mansour Samara Muhsen Bang Ki-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 Xaypaseuth Phongsanit Souei Vongkham Yassin Tuan Mohd Hanafiah Muhammad Usaid Jamal Muhammad Nazmi Nasaruddin Mohd Amirul Izwan Yaacob Kyaw Zwall 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 as their own stadium did not meet tournament standards.
The Gelora Bung Karno Stadium operated at 70 percent capacity, at around 50,000 seats. The decision for a maximum attendance capacity of 70 percent was based on risk assessments and trials for future capacity expansion implementation.
Kuala Lumpur Jakarta Phnom PenhBukit Jalil National StadiumKuala Lumpur StadiumGelora Bung Karno StadiumMorodok Techo National StadiumCapacity: 87,411Capacity: 18,000Capacity: 77,193Capacity: 60,000 HanoiLocation of stadiums of the 2022 AFF Championship YangonMỹ Đình National StadiumThuwunna StadiumCapacity: 40,192Capacity: 32,000 Pathum Thani Vientiane Manila SingaporeThammasat StadiumThe venue of the Thailand's home matches was moved to Thammasat Stadium, as the Rajamangala Stadium was booked for two concert by Justin Bieber on November (then latter cancelled), Maroon 5 on December and the 37th Golden Disc Awards on January.New Laos National StadiumRizal Memorial StadiumJalan Besar StadiumThe venue of the Singapore's two home matches was moved to Jalan Besar Stadium, as the National Stadium was booked for the "Carnival World Tour 2022" concert by Taiwanese singer Jay Chou on 17 and 18 December.Capacity: 25,000Capacity: 25,000Capacity: 12,000Capacity: 6,000
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 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
Vietnam won 2–0 on aggregate.
Thailand won 3–1 on aggregate.
Final
First leg
Second leg
Thailand won 3–2 on aggregate.
Statistics Winner 2022 AFF Championship7th title
Awards Most Valuable PlayerYoung Player of the TournamentTop Scorer AwardFair Play Award Theerathon Bunmathan Marselino Ferdinan Teerasil Dangda Nguyễn Tiến Linh
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 and the semi-finals first leg against Thailand.
PlayerOffencesSuspensions Boris Kok in Group A v Philippines in Group A v IndonesiaGroup A v Brunei Nanda Kyaw in Group B v SingaporeGroup B v Laos Alinur Rashimy Jufri in Group A v IndonesiaGroup A v Cambodia Nguyễn Văn Toàn in Group B v MalaysiaGroup B v Singapore Azam Azmi in Group B v VietnamGroup B v SingaporeSemi-finals 1st-leg v Thailand Sanrawat Dechmitr in Group A v IndonesiaGroup A v Cambodia Jordi Amat in Group A v Cambodia in Group A v ThailandGroup A v Philippines Maung Maung Lwin in Group B v Singapore in Group B v LaosGroup B v Vietnam Anantaza Siphongphan in Group B v Malaysia in Group B v MyanmarTeam already eliminated from tournament Billy Ketkeophomphone in Group B v Vietnam in Group B v MyanmarTeam already eliminated from tournament Aung Naing Win in Group B v Laos in Group B v VietnamTeam already eliminated from tournament Faisal Halim in Group B v Laos in semifinals 2nd leg v ThailandTeam already eliminated from tournament Dominic Tan in Group B v Laos in semifinals 2nd leg v ThailandTeam already eliminated from tournament Peeradon Chamratsamee in final 2nd leg v Vietnam 2024 ASEAN Championship Group A v Timor-Leste
Tournament teams ranking This table will show the ranking of teams throughout the tournament.
2022 AFF Championship All-Star XI
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:
Title sponsorOfficial sponsorsOfficial supportersOfficial football website partner Mitsubishi Electric Tiger Brokers Yanmar Acecook Vietnam Herbalife Vietnam Pocari Sweat TMGM TikTok Warrix GOAL
Media coverage 2022 AFF Championship television broadcasters in Southeast Asia Country Broadcastings network Television Radio Live streaming RTB RTB Aneka RTB Go FPT Play, Bayon Television BTV Cambodia MNC Media, Emtek RCTI, iNews, Soccer Channel, MNC Sports MNC Trijaya FM and Vision+ FPT Play Lao Star Channel colspan="2" Astro, RTM Astro Arena, TV2, TV Okey, Sukan RTM Astro Go, RTMKlik FPT Play, Sky Net Sky Net Sports HD, Sky Net Sports 4 colspan="2" MNC Media, Emtek One Sports TAP Go Mediacorp Channel 5 meWATCH SAT, Kong Salak Plus MCOT HD, T Sports 7 Active Radio FM99 FPT Play, VTV VTV2, VTV5, VTV5 Tây Nam Bộ, VTV Cần Thơ Pladio247 FPT Play, VTVgo 2022 AFF Championship international television broadcasters Rest of world YouTube AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup Seoul Broadcasting System SBS, SBS Sports SBS TV Live, SBS Sports YouTube channel, and SBS Now
Incidents and controversies The Group B match between Malaysia and Vietnam was marred by controversy, when Japanese referee Ryuji Sato who officiated the match gave a sudden controversial decision to award a penalty to Vietnam following a clash between Malaysian Azam Azmi and Vietnamese Đoàn Văn Hậu 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 (FAM) towards the ASEAN Football Federation (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 held in the United Arab Emirates. 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 Singapore and the semi-final first leg against Thailand. Azam also needed to pay a fine of US$1,000 that had to be settled in 30 days. The decisions were not appealable.