[3] Thailand won the tournament 4–3 in a two-legged final against Malaysia,[4] with manager Kiatisuk Senamuang being the first coach to win the competition also as a player.

[7][8] Qualification was to have been scrapped for this edition of the tournament,[12] but at the AFF Council Meeting in Naypyidaw, Myanmar in December 2013, it was decided that the qualifying round would be retained, and Laos were awarded the hosting rights.

However, Australia had no plans to compete against lower-ranked teams in AFF Championship and that they would continue to play in future editions of the EAFF East Asian Cup.

During a group match between Singapore and Malaysia at the Singapore National Stadium, irate Singaporean fans began throwing bottles of water and toilet rolls on the pitch and players gate tunnel at the end of the match due to what was seen as awful decision-making by Oman referee Ahmed Al-Kaf, who awarded the Malaysian side a penalty kick resulting in an advantage for them.

[20] Other incidents occurred soon during the first semi-final between Malaysia and Vietnam in Shah Alam Stadium, where some of the Malaysian fans were seen pointing green laser lights on the field, as recorded on the match video in television camera.

[21] The laser incident is a continuation from Malaysian hooligans, as it also happened during the previous edition of AFF Championship semi-final against Vietnam and in the final against Indonesia in 2010.

Bottles, smoke bombs and other dangerous objects continued to get thrown even after the Royal Malaysia Police arrived at the scene to quell the scuffles.