The first trophy, which until 2005 was called the Tiger Cup (in honor of the main sponsor - the Singapore brewing company), took place in 1996. Since 2008, the competition has been called the Suzuki Cup, after the title sponsor of Suzuki. Competitions are held every two years.
Four national teams have won the AFF Championship title; Thailand has won six titles, Singapore four titles, Vietnam two titles and Malaysia one title. To date, Thailand and Singapore are the only teams in history to have won back-to-back titles; Thailand in 2000 and 2002, and in 2014 and 2016, and Singapore in 2004 and 2007.
Since 2004, the playoffs have been played over two legs, home and away. The away goals rule has been applied to the playoffs since the 2010 version. Starting with the 2018 edition, a new format applies. The top nine teams automatically qualify, while the 10th and 11th placed teams play in a two-legged qualifier.
The 10 teams were divided into two groups of five and played in a round robin, where each team played two home and two away matches. A draw was made to determine where the teams would play, while the playoff format remained unchanged.
From 2018, the championship winners will compete in the next AFF–EAFF Champions Trophy, against the winner of the EAFF E-1 Football Championship, the champions of East Asia, to determine the champions of East and Southeast Asia.
Despite Australia having joined the AFF since 2013, Australia has never competed in the ASEAN Football Federation Championship due to their overwhelming strength compared to the rest of the teams. The AFF tournament is recognized by FIFA as an international "A" tournament and since 1996 it has offered FIFA Ranking Points.
