The purpose of the competition was to improve the quality of football in the East Asia and the national teams in the area participated in the tournament.

In the tournament, China, South Korea, and Japan have the right to automatically enter the competition, while other participants have to go through a qualifying round.

Other participants that take part are Chinese Taipei, North Korea, Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Hong Kong, Mongolia, and Macau.

[2] In 2005 there was also a combined points competition in 2005, where the results of the men's and women's teams were added together (not including qualifiers).

In April 2012, the competition was renamed to the "EAFF East Asian Cup".