India will participate in the inaugural FIFA ASEAN Cup after the All India Football Federation signed a participation agreement with FIFA.
The new tournament, announced by Gianni Infantino during the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur last year, is expected to be held later in 2026 and will feature national teams from Southeast Asia along with invited nations.
AIFF deputy secretary general M Satyanarayan confirmed that India had accepted FIFA’s invitation and completed the agreement process, while further details regarding the competition are awaited.
Tournament offers India valuable international exposure
India’s participation comes at a crucial time for the national team after failing to qualify for the AFC Asian Cup 2027 in Saudi Arabia. The team has since struggled to secure high-quality international fixtures.
The FIFA ASEAN Cup is expected to provide India with competitive matches during the September-October international window. Reports also suggest that China has been invited as FIFA looks to include the world’s two most populous nations in the tournament.
The competition will reportedly follow a format similar to the FIFA Arab Cup and aims to strengthen football development across Southeast Asia. Several ASEAN nations, including Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Singapore, have shown rapid progress in recent years and qualified for the next Asian Cup.
India are currently preparing for the Unity Cup in London later this month under head coach Khalid Jamil, where they could face teams like Jamaica and Nigeria depending on results.
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