[4] Vietnam won the tournament by a 3–2 victory in the two-legged final against Malaysia to secure their second title,[5][6][7] and subsequently qualified to meet 2017 EAFF E-1 Football Championship winner of South Korea in the 2019 AFF–EAFF Champions Trophy.

[8][9] In March 2016, it was reported that the AFF was mulling over changes to the tournament format due to the failure to attract big crowds for matches not involving the host nation.

Based on the 2016 AFF Championship ranking, Brunei and Timor Leste played in a home and away playoffs which was conducted on 1 and 8 September 2018 with the latter securing qualification.

[2] The draw for the tournament was held on 2 May 2018[14] at Hotel Mulia in Jakarta, Indonesia[15][16] with the pot placements followed each teams progress in the previous two editions.

[21][22] The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) also asked AFF to move their final group match against Cambodia to Hàng Đẫy Stadium as the match date is coincides with the opening ceremony of the Vietnam National Games that will be held in Mỹ Đình National Stadium by which the request was accepted through the AFF meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on 13 September.

Elements combined to form the logo are a beating heart, a goalpost and raised hands by a fan that is meant to signify "pride, loyalty, football, rivalry, and passion".

The colours devised are magenta (passion and energy), cyan (fresh beginning), green (vibrancy of a football pitch) and blue (topography of the region).

Under AFF rules, any head coach and a starting player from each team must show up at the pre-match press conference one day prior to the match.

[66] During the encounter between Myanmar and Vietnam in Group A in Yangon, the Vietnamese side was dissatisfied over the controversial decision made by Qatari referee Khamis Al-Marri after two penalty calls were denied, and another goal was ruled offside by Thai linesman Phubes Lekpha despite video replay showing the Vietnamese player was indeed onside at that time.

[68][69] As a result, the availability and importance of video assistant referee (VAR) like in the recent 2018 FIFA World Cup is questioned where many believed it should have been enforced in all international football matches.

[70] Prior to the group match between Malaysia and Vietnam in Hanoi, young Vietnamese football fans who waiting over a night to buy tickets are being threatened by local thugs and gangsters and forced to leave.

[74] Nevertheless, the Secretary of Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), Stuart Michael Ramalingam, made a visit to the victims' representative to apologise, explaining that they have ensured security measures being taken inside the stadium during the game but cannot prevent any untoward incident that happened outside the stadium, thus urging every football supporter to control their behaviour with a sportsmanship spirit.

[75] Despite the apology, the Myanmar Football Federation (MFF) sent a letter to the AFF to take action against the host country since it was a repeat of similar fan violence in recent years, urging for a definite end to such violence towards any visiting fans in any future matches hosted by Malaysia, as well as for a heavy penalty to be imposed on them if such problems keep recurring.

[77] The Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) was fined Rp116 million (US$8,000) by the AFF after one of their players were found to be using a shirt with sponsor logo during their training session before the group match against Timor-Leste.

Under the AFF Disciplinary Code 6.11 (Colour and Shirt Number), each team may not display the sponsor's logo either inside or outside the stadium during official training, games and at press conferences.

[81] Philippines midfielder Stephan Schröck, a Filipino-German, also expressed his anger via social media saying "call us half-bloods all day, but once we've met, only half of you will be left".