Thailand, which were selected to host the tournament, returning for the first time since the cancelled 2009 AFF U-16 Youth Championship.

A total of 12 teams played in the tournament, with players born on or after 1 January 2002 eligible to participate.

The following 12 teams from member associations of the ASEAN Football Federation entered the tournament.

Australia (1) Vietnam (2) Thailand (3) Cambodia (4) Laos (5) Malaysia (6) Myanmar (7) Timor-Leste (8) Singapore (9) Brunei (10) Philippines (11) Indonesia (unranked) The top two teams of each group advanced to the semi-finals.

If tied on points, tiebreakers are applied in the following order: In the knockout stage, the penalty shoot-outs are used to decide the winner if necessary (extra time is not used).