2018 AFC U-19 Championship qualification
A total of 16 teams qualified to play in the final tournament, including Indonesia who qualified automatically as hosts.


2018 AFC U-19 Championship qualification, Draw
Of the 47 AFC member associations, a total of 43 teams entered the competition. The final tournament hosts Indonesia also entered in qualification despite having automatically qualified for the final tournament (they had not been confirmed as hosts at the time of the qualification draw).


2018 AFC U-19 Championship qualification, Draw
The draw was held on 21 April 2017, 16:00 MYT (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The 43 teams were drawn into ten groups: three groups of five teams and seven groups of four teams. For the draw, teams were divided into two zones:


2018 AFC U-19 Championship qualification, Draw
The teams were seeded in each zone according to their performance in the 2016 AFC U-19 Championship final tournament and qualification (overall ranking shown in parentheses; NR stands for non-ranked teams). The following restrictions were also applied:


2018 AFC U-19 Championship qualification, Player eligibility
Players born on or after 1 January 1999 are eligible to compete in the tournament.


2018 AFC U-19 Championship qualification, Format
In each group, teams play each other once at a centralised venue. The ten group winners and the five best runners-up qualify for the final tournament. If the final tournament hosts Indonesia win their group or are among the five best runners-up, the sixth best runner-up also qualifies for the final tournament.


2018 AFC U-19 Championship qualification, Format, Tiebreakers
Teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings (Regulations Article 9.3):


2018 AFC U-19 Championship qualification, Groups
The matches were played between 24 October – 8 November 2017.


2018 AFC U-19 Championship qualification, Ranking of second-placed teams
Due to groups having different number of teams and the withdrawal of Afghanistan and Northern Mariana Islands from Groups C and J, the results against the fifth and fourth-placed teams in five and four-team groups are not considered for this ranking.


2018 AFC U-19 Championship qualification, Goalscorers
There were 234 goals scored in 66 matches, for an average of 3.55 goals per match.


2018 AFC U-19 Championship squads
Player names marked in bold went on to earn full international caps.


2018 AFC U-19 Championship squads, Group A, United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates named their squad on 4 October 2018.


2018 AFC U-23 Championship
The 2018 AFC U-23 Championship (also known as the 2018 AFC U-23 Asian Cup) was the third edition of the AFC U-23 Championship, the biennial international age-restricted football championship organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the men's under-23 national teams of Asia. A total of 16 teams competed in the tournament. It took place between 9–27 January 2018, and was hosted by China.


2018 AFC U-23 Championship
Uzbekistan defeated Vietnam in the final to win their first title. Japan were the defending champions, but failed to defend the title after losing to Uzbekistan in the quarter-finals.


2018 AFC U-23 Championship, Qualification
The qualifiers were held from 15 to 23 July 2017. China also participated in the qualifiers, even though they had already qualified automatically as hosts.


2018 AFC U-23 Championship, Venues
The competition was played in four venues in four cities, all in the province of Jiangsu.


2018 AFC U-23 Championship, Draw
The draw of the final tournament was held on 24 October 2017, 16:00 CST (UTC+8), at the Traders Fudu Hotel in Changzhou. The 16 teams were drawn into four groups of four teams. The teams were seeded according to their performance in the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship final tournament and qualification, with the hosts China automatically seeded and assigned to Position A1 in the draw.


2018 AFC U-23 Championship, Match officials
The following referees were chosen for the 2018 AFC U-23 Championship. Additional assistant referees were used in this tournament.


2018 AFC U-23 Championship, Squads
Players born on or after 1 January 1995 are eligible to compete in the tournament. Each team must register a squad of minimum 18 players and maximum 23 players, minimum three of whom must be goalkeepers (Regulations Articles 24.1 and 24.2).


2018 AFC U-23 Championship, Group stage
The top two teams of each group advance to the quarter-finals.


2018 AFC U-23 Championship, Group stage
Teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings (Regulations Article 9.3):


2018 AFC U-23 Championship, Knockout stage
In the knockout stage, extra time and penalty shoot-out are used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Articles 12.1 and 12.2).


2018 AFC U-23 Championship, Knockout stage, Final
This was the first time ever that Vietnam and Uzbekistan met together in final. For Vietnam, this was their first appearance in an AFC final at any level.


2018 AFC U-23 Championship, Awards
The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament:


2018 AFC U-23 Championship, Statistics, Goalscorers
There were 82 goals scored in 32 matches, for an average of 2.56 goals per match.


2018 AFC U-23 Championship, Statistics, Tournament team rankings
As per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws.


2018 AFC U-23 Championship Final
The 2018 AFC U-23 Championship Final was a football match that took place on 27 January 2018 at the Changzhou Olympic Sports Centre in Changzhou, China, to determine the winners of the 2018 AFC U-23 Championship. The match was contested by Vietnam and Uzbekistan, the winners of the semi-finals.


2018 AFC U-23 Championship Final
Uzbekistan beat Vietnam after extra time to claim their maiden U-23 Asian Cup title in what was considered to be the most exciting and special final in the history of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).


2018 AFC U-23 Championship Final, Route to the final
Vietnam's participation to the final was considered as a surprise. Prior to the tournament, Vietnam had just participated in one edition, the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship where they finished bottom with total three defeats. Uzbekistan, being considered as a heavyweight, in their first two editions were not successful, being eliminated from the group stage both two editions and only claimed one victory in both tournaments.


2018 AFC U-23 Championship Final, Route to the final
Vietnam participated in the tournament together with South Korea, Australia and Syria. Being in a tough group, Vietnam was believed to make an early exit from the group stage. That was true in the first match, when Vietnam lost 1–2 to South Korea. However, Vietnam surprisingly bounced back and beat Australia 1–0, took vengeance for the defeat two years ago. After drawing Syria 0–0, Vietnam, together with Malaysia were the first two Southeast Asian teams to qualify into the knockout stage.


2018 AFC U-23 Championship Final, Route to the final
Vietnam continued to surprise every predictions by defeating Iraq and Qatar on the penalty shootout after two thrillers, both ended 3–3 and 2–2 after 120 minutes each. Thus Vietnam had written history by becoming the first Southeast Asian team since 1999, to play in the final of an AFC tournament. This was also Vietnam's first ever AFC final in their football history.


2018 AFC U-23 Championship Final, Route to the final
Uzbekistan was placed in group A with host China, Qatar and Oman. Unlike Vietnam, Uzbekistan had more experience, and was expected to make at least the semi-finals. However, their hope was shattered by a humiliating 0–1 loss to Qatar, before they fought back and defeated China and Oman both with the score 1–0. When the Young White Wolves passed into the quarter-finals, the Uzbeks showed their strength by demolishing an Olympic-preparing squad and Asian champions Japan in a surprising 4–0 victory, before taking 120 minutes to defeat another East Asian giant, South Korea, 4–1.


2018 AFC U-23 Championship Final, Match
The striker was on hand to convert a Dostonbek Khamdamov corner with his first touch of the game, after a 1-1 draw had forced the game into an additional 30 minutes.


2018 AFC U-23 Championship Final, Match
While Uzbekistan’s victory saw them add to the AFC U-16 Championship title they won in 2012, it also brought the curtain down on a remarkable Vietnam campaign, one which will live long in the memory of the Southeast Asian nation’s supporters.


2018 AFC U-23 Championship Final, Match
In decidedly wintry conditions at the Changzhou Olympic Sports Center, it was Uzbekistan who controlled the early proceedings, and they duly took the lead on eight minutes when a poorly marked Rustamjon Ashurmatov headed home Khamdamov’s outswinging corner.


2018 AFC U-23 Championship Final, Match
Uzbekistan continued to press after the breakthrough, as both a Javokhir Sidikov header and Khamdamov’s effort from 20 yards forced Vietnam goalkeeper Bui Tien Dung into smart saves.


2018 AFC U-23 Championship Final, Match
Despite struggling to fully impose themselves on the game, Vietnam briefly threatened to restore parity shortly after the half hour mark when Pham Xuan Manh’s excellent cross narrowly eluded the onrushing Phan Vanh Duc and Nguyen Quang Hai.


2018 AFC U-23 Championship Final, Match
However, after seeing Azizjon Ganiev fire narrowly over, Vietnam drew level on the stroke of half-time. Nguyen Cong Phuong was brought down on the edge of the area, and from the resulting free-kick Quang Hai superbly curled the ball past the despairing dive of Botirali Ergashev to register his fifth goal of the tournament.


2018 AFC U-23 Championship Final, Match
After a delayed restart to allow a layer of snow to be removed from the pitch, Uzbekistan were the first to shine once again, this time Khamdamov stinging the palms of Tien Dung courtesy of a 48th minute long-range drive.


2018 AFC U-23 Championship Final, Match
Moments later, Tien Dung, the hero of Vietnam’s semi-final win over Iraq, reacted well to deny Sidikov from six yards, before Uzbekistan captain Zabikhillo Urinboev fizzed a shot wide of the left-hand upright on 70 minutes.


2018 AFC U-23 Championship Final, Match
In the last meaningful action of normal time, Urinboev could, and very possibly should, have won the match for the Central Asians, but the striker inexplicably lashed his attempt from eight yards over the bar after Tien Dung had parried Akramjon Komilov’s cross into his path.


2018 AFC U-23 Championship Final, Match
Urinboev’s miss was to matter little in the end though, as Sidorov applied an expert finish to Khamdamov's last gasp corner at the end of additional time to seal the title for Uzbekistan and break Vietnamese hearts on a day of high drama.


2018 AFC U-23 Championship Final, Controversies, Referee issues
Prior to the final, the AFC had assigned Chinese referee Ma Ning to be in the final. However, only a few hours before the match, the position was given to Omani referee Ahmed Al-Kaf who replaced Ma Ning. The AFC did not explain their reasoning behind its decision, however, it was believed to have been from disputes between the host officials and the AFC over refereeing. Al-Kaf himself had also headed refereeing in some previous AFC Champions League matches.


2018 AFC U-23 Championship Final, Controversies, Snowy conditions
The match was played in heavy snow, under –2°C, which was relatively very cold, and it had been suggested that the match be delayed due to snowfall. However, the AFC turned down the request and ordered the match to continue. After the end of the first half, the AFC asked that the snow be cleared from the field, and it took around thirty minutes to one hour until the match could be continued. It was criticised in the aftermath of the match, both by Uzbekistani and Vietnamese fans, as both teams were not accustomed to play in such harsh weather conditions.


2018 AFC U-23 Championship Final, Controversies, Uzbekistan's team shirt
In the first half, the Uzbeks were permitted by the AFC to wear all-white, despite heavy snow storms across the city. Because of this, not only the Vietnamese, but even the Uzbek players found themselves very hard to find and see their own players on the field. To solve the problem, the Uzbeks had changed to blue uniforms in the second half of the match.


2018 AFC U-23 Championship qualification
The 2018 AFC U-23 Championship qualification was an international men's under-23 football competition which decided the participating teams of the 2018 AFC U-23 Championship.


2018 AFC U-23 Championship qualification
A total of 16 teams qualified to play in the final tournament, including China PR who qualified automatically as hosts.


2018 AFC U-23 Championship qualification, Draw
Of the 47 AFC member associations, a total of 40 teams entered the competition. The final tournament hosts China PR decided to participate in qualification despite having automatically qualified for the final tournament.


2018 AFC U-23 Championship qualification, Draw
The draw was held on 17 March 2017, 15:00 MYT (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The 40 teams were drawn into ten groups of four teams. For the draw, teams were divided into two zones:


2018 AFC U-23 Championship qualification, Draw
The teams were seeded according to their performance in the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship final tournament and qualification. The following restrictions were also applied:


2018 AFC U-23 Championship qualification, Player eligibility
Players born on or after 1 January 1995 were eligible to compete in the tournament.


2018 AFC U-23 Championship qualification, Format
In each group, teams played each other once at a centralised venue. The ten group winners and the five best runners-up qualified for the final tournament. If the final tournament hosts China PR won their group or were among the five best runners-up, the sixth best runner-up also qualified for the final tournament.


2018 AFC U-23 Championship qualification, Format, Tiebreakers
Teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria were applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings (Regulations Article 9.3):


2018 AFC U-23 Championship qualification, Groups
The matches were played between 15 and 23 July 2017.


2018 AFC U-23 Championship qualification, Ranking of second-placed teams
Due to groups having different number of teams after the withdrawal of Sri Lanka from Group A, the results against the fourth-placed teams in four-team groups were not considered for this ranking.


2018 AFC U-23 Championship qualification, Goalscorers
There were 205 goals scored in 57 matches, for an average of 3.6 goals per match.


2018 AFC U-23 Championship squads
The following is a list of squads for each national team which competed at the 2018 AFC U-23 Championship. The tournament took place in China, between 9–27 January 2018. It was the third U-23 age group competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation. As the tournament was not held during the FIFA International Match Calendar, clubs were not obligated to release the players.


2018 AFC U-23 Championship squads
The sixteen national teams involved in the tournament were required to register a squad of 23 players, including three goalkeepers. Only players in these squads were eligible to take part in the tournament. Players born on or after 1 January 1995 were eligible to compete in the tournament.


2018 AFC U-23 Championship squads
The full squad listings are below. The age listed for each player is on 9 January 2018, the first day of the tournament. The nationality for each club reflects the national association (not the league) to which the club is affiliated. A flag is included for coaches who are of a different nationality than their own national team. Players in boldface have been capped at full international level at some point in their career.


2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup
The 2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup was the 19th edition of the AFC Women's Asian Cup, the quadrennial international football tournament in Asia competed by the women's national teams in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It was originally scheduled to be held in Jordan between 7 and 22 April 2018, but later was changed to 6 to 20 April 2018.


2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup
The tournament served as the final stage of Asian qualification for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, with the top five teams qualifying for the World Cup in France.


2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup
Japan defeated Australia 1–0 in the final to win their second consecutive title. In the third-place match the same day, China defeated Thailand 3–1.


2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup, Qualification
The draw for the qualifiers was held on 21 January 2017. The top three finishers of the last AFC Women's Cup qualified automatically and did not have to enter qualifying, while Jordan also qualified automatically as hosts but decided to also participate in the qualifying competition. The matches were played from 3 to 12 April 2017.


2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup, Venues
The competition was played in two venues in the city of Amman.


2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup, Draw
The final draw was held on 9 December 2017, 13:00 EET (UTC+2), at the King Hussein bin Talal Convention Center on the eastern shores of the Dead Sea. The eight teams were drawn into two groups of four teams. The teams were seeded according to their performance in the 2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup final tournament and qualification, with the hosts Jordan automatically seeded and assigned to Position A1 in the draw.


2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup, Squads
Each team must register a squad of minimum 18 players and maximum 23 players, minimum three of whom must be goalkeepers (Regulations Articles 31.4 and 31.5).


2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup, Match officials
A total of 10 referees and 12 assistant referees were appointed for the final tournament.


2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup, Group stage
The top two teams of each group qualified for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup as well as the semi-finals. The third-placed team of each group entered the fifth-placed match.


2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup, Group stage
Teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings (Regulations Article 11.5):


2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup, Knockout stage
In the knockout stage, extra time and penalty shoot-out are used to decide the winner if necessary, except for the third place match where penalty shoot-out (no extra time) is used to decide the winner if necessary.


2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup, Awards
The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament:


2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup, Goalscorers
There were 66 goals scored in 17 matches, for an average of 3.88 goals per match.


2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup, Qualified teams for FIFA Women's World Cup
The following five teams from AFC qualified for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.


2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup, Broadcasting rights and sponsorships
Le Sports acquired the all-media broadcasting and signal production rights in China in 2015, but they collapsed due to financial problems thus giving in all the rights they've acquired and transferred them to China Central Television and PP Sports in 2017. Tire manufacturer Continental announced they would be official sponsor.


2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup Final
The 2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup Final was a football match at the Amman International Stadium in Amman, Jordan which determined the winner of the 2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup. The final was contested between Japan and Australia, teams which were also the finalists of the previous edition held in 2014.


2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup Final
Japan defeated Australia 1–0 in the final to win their second consecutive title.


2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup Final, Background
Japan were the defending champions of the AFC Women's Asian Cup having defeated Australia in the final of the 2014 edition in Vietnam to win their first continental title. The two sides had met in the group stage of the 2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup. Their encounter ended in a 1–1 draw.


2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup Final, Background
The match also marked Australia's third consecutive appearance in a Women's Asian Cup final. This feat was last achieved by China which featured in the final of the 2003, 2006, and 2008 editions.


2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup Final, Background
Australia's previous victory against Japan in a major tournament was their match up at the 2010 AFC Women's Asian Cup in Vietnam, where it knockout their East Asian opposition out of the semifinals and win the title. Australia has been beaten by Japan since then including their quarter final loss in the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup.


2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup Final, Route to the final
Australia and Japan were both part of Group B in the group stage. Australia finished as group leaders and had to face second-placers Thailand in the semifinal while Japan had to play against China, the Group A leaders. The semifinalists of the tournament including Australia and Japan secured a berth at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup by finishing among the top two teams in their group.


2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup Final, Route to the final
Australia was trailing 1–2 to Thailand in their semifinal tie before Australia made an equalizer just before the end of the regulation time. This meant that the match had to go to extra time but no further goals were made and penalty shoot-out was held to determine which among the two teams to advance to the final. Australia outscored Thailand in the penalties. Japan won over China in the other semifinal with the sole Chinese goal being scored from a penalty kick in the 90th minute.


2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup Final, Match
Australian winger Hayley Raso, right knee injury, was ruled out of the Final.


2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup Final, Match
In the first half, Australia had a chance to score when they were awarded a penalty after Saki Kumagai handled Tameka Butt’s shot at goal in the 14th minute, but Ayaka Yamashita saved the penalty from Elise Kellond-Knight.


2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup Final, Match
In the 84th minute, substitute Kumi Yokoyama received the ball from Yui Hasegawa and shot the ball into the top corner of the net from 18 yards scoring the winning goal.


2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup Final, Aftermath
Japan won their second AFC Women's Asian Cup title. Japan's win also marks the first time a national team won the continental title two times consecutively, a feat last done North Korea who emerged champions of the 2001 and 2003 editions. It was also the first title won by Japan women's team under the tutelage of manager, Asako Takakura and the third major title within the last seven years.


2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualification
The 2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualification was the qualification tournament for the 2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup.


2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualification
A total of 21 teams entered the qualification tournament, which decided four of the eight participating teams in the final tournament held in Jordan. This tournament also served as the first stage of Asian qualification for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, with the top five teams of the final tournament qualifying for the World Cup.


2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualification, Draw
Of the 47 AFC member associations, a total of 24 teams entered the competition, with Japan, Australia, and China PR automatically qualified for the final tournament by their position as the top three teams of the 2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup and thus did not participate in the qualifying competition. Jordan also automatically qualified for the final tournament as hosts, but decided to also participate in the qualifying competition.


2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualification, Draw
The draw was held on 21 January 2017, 15:00 AST (UTC+2), at the Grand Hyatt in Amman, Jordan. The 21 teams were drawn into one group of six teams and three groups of five teams.


2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualification, Draw
The teams were seeded according to their performance in the 2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup final tournament and qualification. The following restrictions were also applied:


2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualification, Format
In each group, teams played each other once at a centralised venue. The four group winners qualified for the final tournament. If Jordan won their group, the runner-up of their group also qualified for the final tournament.


2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualification, Format, Tiebreakers
Teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria were applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings (Regulations Article 11.5):


2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualification, Goalscorers
There were 206 goals scored in 38 matches, for an average of 5.42 goals per match.


2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup squads
Each country's final squad has to comprise 23 players. A preliminary squad of 18–50 players was submitted earlier.


2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup squads
On 29 March, AFC announced the squads for teams of both the groups.


2018 AFC Women's Futsal Championship
The 2018 AFC Women's Futsal Championship was the second edition of the AFC Women's Futsal Championship, the biennial international futsal championship organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the women's national teams of Asia. It took place in Thailand, which was appointed as hosts by the AFC on 29 July 2017, between 2 and 12 May 2018. The tournament was originally to be held between 15–26 August 2017, two years after the inaugural edition in 2015, but was postponed to the following year.


2018 AFC Women's Futsal Championship
A total of 15 teams participated in the tournament. The 15 teams were divided into four groups (one with three teams and three with four teams), with the group winners and the best runner-up advancing to the quarter-finals.


2018 AFC Women's Futsal Championship
The tournament served as qualifying for the futsal tournament at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, with the winner and the runner-up qualifying for the girls' tournament, to be represented by their under-18 representative teams.


2018 AFC Women's Futsal Championship
Iran, the defending champions, won their second title in a row.


2018 AFC Women's Futsal Championship, Qualified teams
Of the 47 AFC member associations, a total of 15 teams entered the competition. There was no qualification, and all entrants advanced to the final tournament.


2018 AFC Women's Futsal Championship, Venues
The matches are played at the Bangkok Arena and Indoor Stadium Huamark in Bangkok.


2018 AFC Women's Futsal Championship, Draw
The final draw was held on 5 March 2018, 15:30 MYT (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur. The 15 teams were drawn into three group of four teams (Groups A, B and C) and one group of three teams (Group D). The teams were seeded according to their performance in the 2015 AFC Women's Futsal Championship tournament, with the hosts Thailand automatically seeded and assigned to Position A1 in the draw.


2018 AFC Women's Futsal Championship, Squads
Each team must register a squad of 14 players, minimum two of whom must be goalkeepers (Regulations Articles 27.1 and 27.2).


2018 AFC Women's Futsal Championship, Group stage
The winner of each group and the best runner-up advance to the semi-finals.


2018 AFC Women's Futsal Championship, Group stage
Teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings (Regulations Article 10.5):


2018 AFC Women's Futsal Championship, Knockout stage
In the knockout stage, extra time and penalty shoot-out are used to decide the winner if necessary, except for the third place match where penalty shoot-out (no extra time) is used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Articles 14.1 and 15.1).


2018 AFC Women's Futsal Championship, Knockout stage, Semi-finals
Winners qualify for 2018 Summer Youth Olympics girls' futsal tournament, to be represented by their under-18 representative teams.


2018 AFC Women's Futsal Championship, Qualified teams for Youth Olympics
The following two teams from AFC qualified for the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics girls' futsal tournament. Since Iran also qualified for the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics boys' futsal tournament and chose the boys' tournament over the girls' tournament, they were replaced by Thailand.


2018 AFC Women's Futsal Championship, Awards
The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament:


2018 AFC Women's Futsal Championship, Goalscorers
There were 189 goals scored in 29 matches, for an average of 6.52 goals per match.


2018 AFC Women's Futsal Championship, Tournament team rankings
As per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws.


2018 AFC Women's Futsal Championship squads
The following is a list of squads for each national team competing at the 2018 AFC Women's Futsal Championship. The tournament will take place during May 2018 in Thailand. It will be the 2nd competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the women's national teams of Asia.


2018 AFC Women's Futsal Championship squads
Each team must register a squad of 14 players, minimum two of whom must be goalkeepers. The full squad listings are below.


2018 AFF Beach Soccer Championship
The 2018 AFF Beach Soccer Championship is the second edition of the AFF Beach Soccer Championship, the premier regional beach soccer championship exclusively contested by Southeast Asian men's national teams who are members of the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF).


2018 AFF Beach Soccer Championship
Organised by the AFF, the tournament takes place between 18–24 November in Tanjung Benoa, Bali, Indonesia, featuring five teams.


2018 AFF Championship
The 2018 AFF Championship was the 12th edition of the AFF Championship, the football championship of nations affiliated to the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF), and the 6th under the name AFF Suzuki Cup.


2018 AFF Championship
The final tournament ran from 8 November and ended on 15 December 2018. Through the agreement between AFF and East Asian Football Federation (EAFF), the winner of the tournament will qualify for the AFF–EAFF Champions Trophy.


2018 AFF Championship
Thailand had been the defending champions, but lost to Malaysia in the semi-finals. Vietnam won the tournament by a 3–2 victory in the two-legged final against Malaysia to secure their second title, and subsequently qualified to meet 2017 EAFF E-1 Football Championship winner of South Korea in the 2019 AFF–EAFF Champions Trophy.


2018 AFF Championship, Format
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. It was then confirmed by the AFF that starting with the 2018 edition, a new format would be applied. The nine highest ranked teams would automatically qualify with the 10th and 11th ranked teams playing in a two-legged qualifier. The 10 teams would be split in two groups of five and play a round robin system with each team playing two home and two away fixtures. A draw will be made to determine where the teams play while the format of the knockout round would remain unchanged.


2018 AFF Championship, Qualification
Nine teams were automatically qualified in the AFF Championship final tournament. Based on the 2016 AFF Championship ranking, Brunei and Timor Leste played in a home and away play offs which was conducted on 1 and 8 September 2018 with the latter securing qualification. Australia, a member since 2013, did not enter the tournament.


2018 AFF Championship, Draw
The draw for the tournament was held on 2 May 2018 at Hotel Mulia in Jakarta, Indonesia with the pot placements followed each teams progress in the previous two editions. At the time of the draw the identity of the national team that secured qualification was still to be determined (Timor-Leste).


2018 AFF Championship, Squads
Each team were allowed a preliminary squad of 50 players. A final squad of 23 players (three of whom must be goalkeepers) must be registered one day before the first match of the tournament.


2018 AFF Championship, Venues
There are one venue for each participating countries in the tournament with each countries get two group matches played in their home stadium. This is the first time Laos and Cambodia host matches of a final tournament. Before the tournament being held, both the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) and Myanmar Football Federation (MFF) have requested AFF to allow their two home matches to be held in two different stadiums in different cities.


2018 AFF Championship, Venues
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. East Timor will play their designated "home" match against Thailand at the Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok, while their home tie against the Philippines will be played at the Kuala Lumpur Stadium in Malaysia due to the incomplete floodlighting of the Dili Municipal Stadium.


2018 AFF Championship, Group stage
If two or more teams are equal on the basis on the above three criteria, the place shall be determined as follows:


2018 AFF Championship, 2018 AFF Championship best XI
The best XI team was a squad consisting of the eleven most impressive players at the tournament.


2018 AFF Championship, Statistics, Goalscorers
There were 80 goals scored in 26 matches, for an average of 3.08 goals per match.


2018 AFF Championship, Statistics, Discipline
In the final tournament, a player was suspended for the subsequent match in the competition for either getting red card or accumulating two yellow cards in two different matches.


2018 AFF Championship, Statistics, Discipline
• Player who get a card during the semifinals and final doesn't include here.


2018 AFF Championship, Statistics, Tournament teams ranking
This table will show the ranking of teams throughout the tournament.


2018 AFF Championship, Marketing
New tournament visuals, including a logo, for the AFF Championship was unveiled for the 2018 edition during the official draw held on 2 May 2018. The ASEAN Football Federation cooperated with Lagardère Sports for the tournament's branding. Five attributes were identified that are "synonymous" to the tournament. 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".


2018 AFF Championship, Marketing
In addition a colour scheme was developed for the branding. The colours devised are magenta (passion and energy), cyan (fresh beginning), green (vibrancy of a football pitch) and blue (topography of the region).


2018 AFF Championship, Marketing, Matchballs
The official ball for AFF Suzuki Cup 2018 is the Primero Mundo X Star, which is sponsored by Grand Sport Group.


2018 AFF Championship, Incidents and controversies
The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) was fined VND 220 million (US$10,000) by the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) for failing to send any Vietnamese players to attend the press conference before the opening match against Laos on 8 November in Vientiane, with a warning that the penalty will be heavier if it happens again. 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.


2018 AFF Championship, Incidents and controversies
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. An argument then occurred between Burmese coach Antoine Hey and Vietnamese coach Park Hang-seo which resulted in Park not shaking hands with Hey after the match.


2018 AFF Championship, Incidents and controversies
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. 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. Police scouts was then being dispatched to monitor the gangs activities.


2018 AFF Championship, Incidents and controversies
In another situation, 20 Myanmar fans (including women) who were waiting for a bus in Kuala Lumpur to return after the end of the last Group A match between Malaysia and Myanmar when they were physically and verbally attacked by around 30 unidentified assailants. Three of the Myanmar fans were injured and had to be sent to hospital for treatment. The victims decided not to make a police report for its perceived lack of effectiveness on similar cases in the past.


2018 AFF Championship, Incidents and controversies
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.


2018 AFF Championship, Incidents and controversies
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. As stated in their letter, the MFF wrote:


2018 AFF Championship, Incidents and controversies
This is not the first or second time this is happening. This matter is not something only Malaysia should be apologising for. It’s not only for the fans of our country. We are doing it so that it won’t happen again in any host country when other countries come and play. The host country should take extra care and responsibility around the stadium. The hosts also need to take responsibility for the spectators’ safety. If this keeps happening in an host country, it will affect the AFF’s integrity. No one (the visitor team supporters) will come and watch the matches in the future. Thus, in order to prevent this from happening again, we sent a letter to AFF.


2018 AFF Championship, Incidents and controversies
Following the complaint, FAM were given two warning notices by the AFF with a possible fine of RM21,000 (US$5,000), with the latter warning a direct result of some Malaysian supporters throwing airbomb into the stadium track after the end of the group match against Myanmar. 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.


2018 AFF Championship, Incidents and controversies
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. Another possible fines of Rp73 million (US$5,000) also received by the team after they forgot to put the tournament logo in their home shirt during the match against Timor-Leste. Following the team's poor performance and early elimination in Group B, PSSI chairman Edy Rahmayadi blamed Indonesian media and press as the main cause for the team failure.


2018 AFF Championship, Incidents and controversies
Coach Bima Sakti's accusation on the Philippines team using many "naturalised players" also angered many Filipino football supporters. 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”. During the press conference of the first leg final in Malaysia, a dispute between Malaysian and Vietnamese photographer occurred when the latter overshadow Malaysian photographer sights who was standing behind to taking the photo of both teams, causing them to react angrily and saying "Don't stand up!"


2018 AFF Championship, Incidents and controversies
with another Malaysian photographer wearing a cap with black shirt began to approaching the Vietnamese photographer but was being calmed by the press conference staffs as well Malaysian coach Tan Cheng Hoe who urging everyone to remain calm during the tense situation before making his speech on the upcoming final matches. A video footage on the incident had been circulating on YouTube with another voice also being recorded as saying "Oh no! A stupid photographer! ".


2018 AFF Championship, Incidents and controversies
Many Malaysian and Vietnamese fans who could not get a single ticket were also disappointed over how ticket management was being conducted by both FAM and VFF. In Malaysia, many of the fans queued up overnight and camped outside the stadium with some becoming unconscious after being trampled by other fans in crowded areas.


2018 AFF Championship, Incidents and controversies
Similar situation also occurred in Vietnam, hundreds of Vietnam People's Army (VPA) wounded veteran gathered outside the VFF's office gate to buy priority tickets for the second final match since the VFF had announced that it would sell direct tickets to those who had difficulty to buy online tickets. This resulted in chaos when they broke the federation office main gate.


2018 AFF Championship, Incidents and controversies
Prior to the first final match between the two countries in Malaysia, many Vietnamese fans who came to the stadium were disappointed when they were not allowed to enter despite having tickets, due to what was claimed to be “over-crowding” by the stadium management. One of the fans telling that an auxiliary police officer already said to her the seating area in the second tier at the stadium (directly above the visiting fans' place) is actually allocated for their fans but it seems to be already overtaken by the host fans instead.


2018 AFF Championship, Incidents and controversies
Both sides fans also expressed their frustration over the no decision taken by Australian referee Chris Beath in two incidents in the first final game such as the scuffle between two players and another foul when the ball hitting one of the Malaysian player hand in their penalty area in the 28th minute.


2018 AFF Championship Final
The 2018 AFF Championship Final was the final of the 2018 AFF Championship, the 12th edition of the top-level Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) football tournament organised by the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF).


2018 AFF Championship Final
The final was contested in two-legged home-and-away format between Malaysia and Vietnam. The first leg was hosted by Malaysia at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium in Kuala Lumpur on 11 December 2018, while the second leg was hosted by Vietnam at the Mỹ Đình National Stadium in Hanoi on 15 December 2018.


2018 AFF Championship Final, Background
Based on previous records, Malaysia had reached the AFF Championship final three times (1996, 2010 and 2014) while Vietnam had reached the AFF Championship final two times (1998 and 2008). The two sides last met on 23 November 2016 in the group stage of the previous 2016 AFF Championship. Based on the latest rankings released by FIFA World Rankings on 29 November 2018, Malaysia was ranked 167 while Vietnam ranked 100. Both teams had already won their first trophy of the tournament, with Vietnam winning in 2008 and Malaysia in 2010.


2018 AFF Championship Final, Route to the final
Both Malaysia and Vietnam were drawn into Group A of the 2018 AFF Championship. After winning three and drawing one in group matches, Vietnam finished first in the group. Malaysia finished second in the group to progress to the knockout phase of the tournament. Vietnam's first match victory was against Laos with a score of 3–0. From there, they continue the path by beating Malaysia by 2–0 and drawing 0–0 with Myanmar before defeating Cambodia by 3–0. Vietnam progressed to the semi-finals to face Group B runner-up of the Philippines.


2018 AFF Championship Final, Route to the final
In the first-leg in Bacolod, Vietnam won 2–1 before winning the second-leg in Hanoi by another similar scores of 2–1 with total aggregate of 4–2. Malaysia's won their first match against Cambodia by 1–0 before beating Laos by 3–1. Despite losing to Vietnam by 0–2, they managed to qualify to semi-finals after beating Myanmar by 3–0. In the semi-finals, Malaysia face Group B winner as well the defending champion of the tournament of Thailand. In the first-leg in Kuala Lumpur, they drew 0–0 before drawing 2–2 in the second-leg in Bangkok with a similar total aggregate of 2–2, qualifying through the away goals rule.


2018 AFF Championship Final, Route to the final
Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).


2018 AFF Championship Final, Matches, First leg, Malaysia vs Vietnam
Assistant referees:Ronnie Koh Min Kiat (Singapore)Bambang Syamsudar (Indonesia)Fourth official:Muhammad Taqi (Singapore)


2018 AFF Championship Final, Matches, Second leg, Vietnam vs Malaysia
Assistant referees:Reza Ebrahim Sokhandan (Iran)Reza Mansouri (Iran)Fourth official:Jansen Foo (Singapore)


2018 AFF Championship Group A
The Group A of the 2018 AFF Championship was one of the two groups of competing nations in the 2018 AFF Championship. It consisted of Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos. Group A play began on 8 November and ended on 24 November.


2018 AFF Championship Group A, Matches, Cambodia vs Malaysia
Assistant referees:Lim Kok Heng (Singapore)Abdul Hannan Hasim (Singapore)Fourth official:Letchman Gopalakrishnan (Singapore)


2018 AFF Championship Group A, Matches, Myanmar vs Cambodia
Assistant referees:Krizmark Nanola (Philippines)Ali Faisal Rosli (Brunei)Fourth official:Oki Dwi Putra (Indonesia)


2018 AFF Championship Group A, Matches, Laos vs Myanmar
Assistant referees:Relly Balila (Philippines)Dinan Lazuardi (Indonesia)Fourth official:Abdul Hakim Haidi (Brunei)


2018 AFF Championship Group A, Matches, Myanmar vs Vietnam
Assistant referees:Taleb Salem Al-Marri (Qatar)Phubes Lekpha (Thailand)Fourth official:Titichai Nuanchan (Thailand)


2018 AFF Championship Group A, Matches, Vietnam vs Cambodia
Assistant referees:Rachen Srichai (Thailand)Dinan Lazuardi (Indonesia)Fourth official:Oki Dwi Putra (Indonesia)


2018 AFF Championship Group A, Matches, Malaysia vs Myanmar
Assistant referees:Reza Ebrahim Sokhandan (Iran)Reza Mansouri (Iran)Fourth official:Wiwat Jumpaoon (Thailand)


2018 AFF Championship Group B
The Group B of the 2018 AFF Championship was one of the two groups of competing nations in the 2018 AFF Championship. It consisted of Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore and qualification winner of Timor-Leste. Group B play began on 9 November and ended on 25 November.


2018 AFF Championship Group B, Matches, Singapore vs Indonesia
Assistant referees:Nguyễn Trung Hậu (Vietnam)Phạm Mạnh Long (Vietnam)Fourth official:Xaypaseuth Phongsanit (Laos)


2018 AFF Championship Group B, Matches, Philippines vs Singapore
Assistant referees:Azman Ismail (Malaysia)Zayar Maung (Myanmar)Fourth official:Thant Zin Oo (Myanmar)


2018 AFF Championship Group B, Matches, Timor-Leste vs Philippines
Assistant referees:Pisal Kimsy (Cambodia)Ali Faisal Rosli (Brunei)Fourth official:Khuon Virak (Cambodia)


2018 AFF Championship Group B, Matches, Philippines vs Thailand
Assistant referees:Trương Đức Chiến (Vietnam)Sopheap Chi (Cambodia)Fourth official:Chy Samdy (Cambodia)


2018 AFF Championship Group B, Matches, Singapore vs Timor-Leste
Assistant referees:Chit Moe Aye (Myanmar)Kilar Ladsavong (Laos)Fourth official:Fitri Maskon (Malaysia)


2018 AFF Championship Group B, Matches, Thailand vs Singapore
Assistant referees:Trần Liêm Thanh (Vietnam)Trương Đức Chiến (Vietnam)Fourth official:Nguyễn Hiền Triết (Vietnam)


2018 AFF Championship Group B, Matches, Indonesia vs Philippines
Assistant referees:Zhou Fei (China)Pisal Kimsy (Cambodia)Fourth official:Nagor Amir Noor Mohamed (Malaysia)


2018 AFF Championship knockout stage
The knockout stage of the 2018 AFF Championship was the second and final stage of the 2018 AFF Championship, following the group stage. It was played from 1 to 15 December with the top two teams from each group (two in total) advanced to the knockout stage to compete in a single-elimination tournament. Each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. The away goals rule, extra time, and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary.


2018 AFF Championship knockout stage
Vietnam won the finals 3–2 on aggregate against Malaysia for their second titles.


2018 AFF Championship knockout stage, Qualified teams
The top two placed teams from each of the two groups advanced to the knockout stage. In Group A, Vietnam secured the group top spots with 10 points after defeating Cambodia by 3–0 in their last match while Malaysia became the group runners-up with 9 points after beating Myanmar with similar scores of 3–0. Meanwhile in Group B, Thailand secured the group top spots with 10 points after defeating Singapore by 3–0 in their last match while Philippines became the group runners-up with 8 points after drawing 0–0 against Indonesia.


2018 AFF Championship knockout stage, Bracket
Scores after extra time are indicated by (a.e.t. ), and penalty shoot-out are indicated by (pen. ).


2018 AFF Championship knockout stage, Semi-finals, First leg, Malaysia vs Thailand
Assistant referees:Abu Bakar Al-Amri (Oman)Abdul Hannan Hasim (Singapore)Fourth official:Oki Dwi Putra (Indonesia)


2018 AFF Championship knockout stage, Semi-finals, Second leg, Thailand vs Malaysia
Assistant referees:Ahmed Al-Roalle (Jordan)Malang Nurhadi (Indonesia)Fourth official:Thoriq Munir Alkatiri (Indonesia)


2018 AFF Championship knockout stage, Finals, First leg, Malaysia vs Vietnam
Assistant referees:Ronnie Koh Min Kiat (Singapore)Bambang Syamsudar (Indonesia)Fourth official:Muhammad Taqi (Singapore)


2018 AFF Championship knockout stage, Finals, Second leg, Vietnam vs Malaysia
Assistant referees:Reza Ebrahim Sokhandan (Iran)Reza Mansouri (Iran)Fourth official:Jansen Foo (Singapore)


2018 AFF Championship qualification
The 2018 AFF Championship qualification tournament was the qualification process for the 2018 AFF Championship, the twelfth edition of the AFF Championship. Brunei and Timor-Leste contested the tenth remaining berth for the AFF Championship final tournament in two home-and-away matches. On 7 August 2018, organising committees confirmed the venue where Timor-Leste will play Brunei has been changed due to floodlighting issues. The opening match was held at Kuala Lumpur Stadium, Malaysia, not as per originally planned at National Stadium, Dili.


2018 AFF Championship qualification
Timor-Leste advanced to the AFF Championship group stage and were placed in Group B after winning by 3–2 on aggregate from two qualifying matches.


2018 AFF Championship squads
This is the current revision of this page, as edited by 112.215.153.67 (talk) at 05:14, 22 May 2021 (→Indonesia). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this version.


2018 AFF Championship squads
Below are the squads for the 2018 AFF Championship, which takes place between  8 November to 15 December 2018.


2018 AFF Championship squads, Statistics, Age
Of the 61 teenagers in the competition, Timor Leste's Gumario is the youngest at 17 years, 21 days as of the first day of the tournament, and Lao's Keo Oudone Souvannasangso is the youngest goalkeeper. At 37 years, 312 days, Indonesia's Alberto Gonçalves is the oldest player, and Singapore's Hassan Sunny is the oldest goalkeeper just 18 days older than Thailand's Siwarak Tedsungnoen. Thailand's Chalermpong Kerdkaew is the oldest captain at 32. The youngest captain is Timor Leste's Jorge Sabas Victor at 20 years, 338 days.


2018 AFF Futsal Championship
The 2018 AFF Futsal Championship will be the 15th edition of the tournament. The tournament will be held in November 2018 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia


2018 AFF Futsal Championship
Cambodia  participate in this tournament after being absent 6 years. The last edition they played before was in 2012.


2018 AFF Futsal Championship
Australia, Laos and Singapore did not join while Philippines withdrew after drawing.


2018 AFF Futsal Championship, Qualified teams
There was no qualification, and all entrants advanced to the final tournament. The following 11 teams from member associations of the ASEAN Football Federation entered the tournament.


2018 AFF Futsal Championship, Group stage
All matches are to be played in Indonesia. Times listed are UTC+7.


2018 AFF Futsal Championship, Knockout stage
In the knockout stage, extra time and penalty shoot-out are used to decide the winner if necessary, excluding the third place match.


2018 AFF Futsal Club Championship
2018 AFF Invitational Futsal Club Championship is the fourth edition of AFF Futsal Club Championship. The tournament will be held in Yogyakarta, Indonesia from 15 to 21 July 2018. The defending champion is Thai Port.


2018 AFF U-16 Girls' Championship
The 2018 AFF U-16 Girls' Championship was the 3rd edition of the AFF U-16 Girl's Championship, an international women's football tournament organised by the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF). The tournament was hosted by Indonesia from 1 to 13 May 2018.The defending champion was Thailand. They managed to retain their title.


2018 AFF U-16 Girls' Championship, Group stage
The top two teams of each group advanced to the semi-finals. All times listed are Indonesia Western Standard Time (UTC+07:00)


2018 AFF U-16 Girls' Championship, Knockout stage
In the knockout stage, the penalty shoot-outs are used to decide the winner if necessary (extra time is not used).


2018 AFF U-16 Youth Championship
The 2018 AFF U-16 Championship was the thirteenth edition of the AFF U-16 Championship, the annual international youth association football championship organised by the ASEAN Football Federation for men's under-16 national teams of Southeast Asia.


2018 AFF U-16 Youth Championship
A total of 11 teams played in the tournament, with players born on or after 1 January 2002 eligible to participate. Each match had a duration of 80 minutes, consisting of two halves of 40 minutes.


2018 AFF U-16 Youth Championship
Indonesia beat Thailand 4–3 through penalty shoot-out in the final for their first title in the championship.


2018 AFF U-16 Youth Championship, Qualified teams
There was no qualification, and all entrants advanced to the final tournament. The following 11 teams from member associations of the ASEAN Football Federation entered the tournament.


2018 AFF U-16 Youth Championship, Knockout stage
In the knockout stage, the penalty shoot-out was used to decide the winner if necessary.


2018 AFF U-19 Youth Championship
The 2018 AFF U-19 Youth Championship was the 16th edition of the AFF U-19 Youth Championship, organised by ASEAN Football Federation. It was hosted by Indonesia during July 2018. Eleven out of the twelve member associations of the ASEAN Football Federation took part in the tournament featuring two groups of five and six teams.


2018 AFF U-19 Youth Championship
Malaysia beat Myanmar 4–3 in the final for their first title in the championship.


2018 AFF U-19 Youth Championship, Participant teams
All of 12 teams from member associations of the ASEAN Football Federation were eligible for the tournament. Only Australia did not enter the tournament. A total of 11 teams from 11 member associations entered the tournament, listed below:


2018 AFF U-19 Youth Championship, Knockout stage
In the knockout stage, the penalty shoot-out is used to decide the winner if necessary.


2018 AFF U-19 Youth Championship, Incident
At the end of semi-finals match between Indonesia and Malaysia during the preparation for penalty shoot-out, the stadium suddenly facing a power outage. The Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) explained that it is not caused from their power distribution since the stadium management only use PLN distribution outside the stadium.


2018 AFF U-19 Youth Championship, Incident
When the match was resumed and the penalty shoot-out ended with a score 3–2 against the host, dissatisfied Indonesian supporters began to throwing bottles and rocks at the Malaysian team after their team failed to qualify to the finals which causing the Malaysian team to run to their dressing room for safety. The Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) then sent a letter of apology to the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and promised such incident will never recurred again in the future tournament they host. A meeting was then held between Indonesian Sports Minister Imam Nahrawi and Malaysian Sports Minister Syed Saddiq in response towards the incident.


2018 AFF U-19 Youth Championship squads
The 2018 AFF U-19 Youth Championship was an international football tournament that was held in Indonesia from 1 July to 14 July. The 11 national teams involved in the tournament were required to register a squad of 23 players; only players in these squads are eligible to take part in the tournament.


2018 AFF Women's Championship
The 2018 AFF Women's Championship was the 9th edition of the AFF Women's Championship, an international women's football tournament organised by the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF). The tournament was hosted by Indonesia from 30 June to 13 July 2018.


2018 AFF Women's Championship squads
Below are the squads for the 2018 AFF Women's Championship, hosted by Indonesia, which is taking place between 30 June - 13 July 2018.


2018 AFL Grand Final
The 2018 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the West Coast Eagles and the Collingwood Football Club at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 29 September 2018. It was the 122nd annual grand final of the Australian Football League (formerly Victorian Football League), staged to determine the premiers for the 2018 AFL season. The match, attended by 100,022 spectators, was won by West Coast by a margin of five points, marking the club's fourth premiership and first since 2006. West Coast's Luke Shuey won the Norm Smith Medal as the player judged best on ground.


2018 AFL Grand Final
It is regarded as one of the greatest grand finals as well as one of the greatest games in AFL history; finishing first in a public poll of the AFL's 50 greatest games of the last 50 years in 2020.


2018 AFL Grand Final
The presentation ceremony following the match was the most watched television program in Australia for the 2018 calendar year, marking the fifth year running the AFL grand final topped television viewership, with 2.62 million viewers in the five largest Australian metropolitan cities.


2018 AFL Grand Final, Background
Beaten by Greater Western Sydney in the previous season's semi-finals, West Coast recorded its best season in three years, with a 16–6 win–loss record, to finish second on the ladder. The club hosted third-placed Collingwood in the second qualifying final at Perth Stadium and overcame the Magpies by sixteen points to advance to a preliminary final. There, the Eagles hosted Melbourne and won comfortably by 66 points to advance to the grand final for the first time since losing the 2015 AFL Grand Final to Hawthorn.


2018 AFL Grand Final, Background
Collingwood had missed the finals for the past four years and finished the 2017 season in thirteenth position, so was not considered a credible premiership chance at the start of the year. Despite this, the club produced its best season since 2011, finishing third. Collingwood faced the West Coast Eagles in Perth in its qualifying final and had led at various stages of the match before being overrun in the last quarter to lose by sixteen points. They rebounded to defeat Greater Western Sydney in the second semi-final by ten points, then had an upset win against reigning premiers Richmond by 39 points in the preliminary final to advance to the grand final.


2018 AFL Grand Final, Background
The grand final attendance of 100,022 people was the largest crowd since the 1986 Grand Final.


2018 AFL Grand Final, Entertainment
As pre-match entertainment, the Black Eyed Peas performed a number of their hit singles, including "Where Is the Love? ", "Let's Get It Started", "I Gotta Feeling" and their new single "Big Love". Filipina singer Jessica Reynoso filled in on vocals for former band member Fergie. Their set was followed by singer Jimmy Barnes, who started his performance with a rendition of "Flame Trees". Mike Brady performed "Up There Cazaly", his own traditional grand final song, while the national anthem was sung by Mahalia Barnes, Jimmy Barnes' daughter.


2018 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, First quarter
Collingwood dominated most of the opening quarter. West Coast spearhead Josh Kennedy had the first score of the game—a behind—before the Magpies scored the first five goals of the game. The first goal came from Travis Varcoe at the five-minute mark, followed by two in quick succession from young forward Jaidyn Stephenson, one from Jordan De Goey at the 16-minute mark, and another from Will Hoskin-Elliott after 22 minutes, ballooning the margin to 29 points.


2018 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, First quarter
West Coast scored two late goals in the final couple of minutes of the quarter to reduce the margin to 17 points at quarter time: the first, after 27 minutes, was scored from a ricochet off Willie Rioli's shin on the goal-line and needed a video review to uphold the on-field decision; and the latter was scored by Kennedy from a set shot in the 29th minute.


2018 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Second quarter
The second quarter was a low-scoring affair, with only two behinds scored during the first twenty minutes of the quarter: one from West Coast's Mark Hutchings at the four-minute mark, and a rushed behind to Collingwood almost eighteen minutes into the term. De Goey broke the drought with his second goal of the afternoon, restoring Collingwood's lead to a relatively comfortable 23 points. But, as in the opening quarter, the Eagles scored two late goals: one from Hutchings at the 22-minute mark, and the other from Luke Shuey at the 26-minute mark, to reduce Collingwood's lead to only twelve points at half time.


2018 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Third quarter
West Coast and Collingwood traded goals in the third quarter. A very early goal to Kennedy inside the first minute of the quarter reduced the margin to six points, before tall forward Mason Cox kicked a goal in the fifth minute to restore Collingwood's two-goal lead. Jamie Cripps kicked a goal for West Coast in the eighth minute, and then Taylor Adams kicked one for Collingwood only a minute later, again restoring the Magpies' lead to two goals. Jack Darling scored his first goal of the match nine minutes later to bring the margin back to a goal.


2018 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Third quarter
In the 21st minute, a pivotal moment in the match occurred: Adams attempted to clear the ball from Collingwood's backline with a dangerous miskick which went towards Stephenson at centre half-back.


2018 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Third quarter
Collingwood runner Alex Woodward, who was in the area delivering another message at the time (since runners were still allowed on the ground during general play at the time, as the rule limiting their access to the ground was introduced only in 2019), proceeded to accidentally impede Stephenson's access to the marking contest, allowing West Coast midfielder Elliot Yeo an uncontested intercept mark from which he kicked a 50-metre (55 yd) set shot and put West Coast ahead for the first time since the beginning of the game.


2018 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Third quarter
There were no more goals in the quarter, with the Magpies initially edging ahead once again with three consecutive behinds in time-on, and Shuey levelling the scores at 8.7 (55) apiece with a late behind. For only the second time in history, and first time since 1937, scores were level at three-quarter time of a Grand Final.


2018 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Fourth quarter
The final term started off rapidly, with three goals scored within the first four minutes. Collingwood started the quarter with Brody Mihocek kicking a goal off the opening passage of play after just 34 seconds, and De Goey scoring his third goal for the match only a minute later to extend the margin to 12 points. Nathan Vardy kicked a goal at the three-minute mark to bring the deficit back to 6 points. Cox scored his second goal at the seven-minute mark to extend the margin back to 11 points, and Kennedy responded with his third goal 90 seconds later to bring the deficit back to 5 points.


2018 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Fourth quarter
The Eagles dominated the contest from this point forward, at one point leading the inside-50 count for the quarter 14–3; however, they repeatedly failed to convert, as four consecutive shots at goal in the middle portion of the quarter were behinds, narrowing the margin to one point. Collingwood's final score of the game, a behind, came from Hoskin-Elliott in the 22nd minute.


2018 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Fourth quarter
With less than three minutes remaining, West Coast put together a sequence of play from a mark by McGovern in defence, which ended with a mark in the forward pocket by Dom Sheed; from a distance of about 40 metres (44 yd) and almost on the boundary line, Sheed kicked a goal to put West Coast in front by four points with less than two minutes left.


2018 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Fourth quarter
West Coast attacked again from the ensuing centre clearance; Darling dropped an uncontested mark almost on the goal-line and Collingwood managed to force a behind to extend the margin to 5 points inside the final minute. Collingwood could not rebound the ensuing kick-in and the siren sounded to give West Coast a 5-point win.


2018 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Norm Smith Medal
With 11 votes out of a maximum possible 12, Luke Shuey was awarded the Norm Smith Medal, after collecting 34 disposals, eight clearances and a crucial second-quarter goal. The award was presented by 2001 Norm Smith medallist Shaun Hart. Chaired by Gavin Wanganeen, the voters and their choices were as follows:


2018 AFL Grand Final, Teams
The teams were announced on 27 September 2018. Both sides went into the match unchanged from their preliminary final teams.


2018 AFL Grand Final, Teams
The umpiring panel, comprising three field umpires, four boundary umpires, two goal umpires and an emergency in each position is given below.


2018 AFL Grand Final, Teams
Numbers in brackets represent the number of grand finals umpired, including 2018.


2018 AFL Rising Star
The NAB AFL Rising Star award is given annually to a standout young player in the Australian Football League (AFL). Jaidyn Stephenson of Collingwood was the winner with 52 votes ahead of Tom Doedee of Adelaide who received 42.


2018 AFL Rising Star, Eligibility
Every round, a nomination is given to a standout young player who performed well during that particular round. To be eligible for nomination, a player must be under 21 on 1 January of that year and have played ten or fewer senior games before the start of the season; a player who is suspended may be nominated, but is not eligible to win the award.


2018 AFL Under 18 Championships
The 2018 NAB AFL Under 18 Championships was the 23rd edition of the AFL Under 18 Championships.


2018 AFL Under 18 Championships
The tournament was played in two divisions, with the best players from across the entire Division 2 Academy series, combined into an Allies team which would then compete in the later five team Division 1 tournament. Thus, division one was made up of 5 teams - Allies, South Australia, Vic Country, Vic Metro and Western Australia - playing each other across 5 rounds.


2018 AFL Under 18 Championships
South Australia won the division one title for the first time since 2014, Victorian Metro midfielder Sam Walsh won the Larke Medal as the division one best player while Tasmanian Tarryn Thomas won the Hunter Harrison Medal for the best player in the Under 18 Academy Series.


2018 AFL Women's All-Australian team
The 2018 AFL Women's All-Australian team represents the best-performed players of the 2018 AFL Women's season. It was announced on 27 March 2018 as a complete women's Australian rules football team of 21 players, the first time that this happened after teams in the AFL Women's were reduced from 22 players following the competition's inaugural season. The team is honorary and does not play any games.


2018 AFL Women's All-Australian team, Initial squad
The initial 40-woman All-Australian squad was announced on 21 March. Collingwood and Melbourne had the most players selected in the initial squad with seven each, while grand finalists Brisbane and the Western Bulldogs had six each. Twelve players from the 2017 team were among those selected.


2018 AFL Women's All-Australian team, Final team
The final team was announced on 27 March. Melbourne and grand finalists Brisbane and the Western Bulldogs had the most representatives with four each, and every team again had at least one representative. Nine players from the 2017 team were among those selected. Adelaide co-captain Chelsea Randall was announced as the All-Australian captain and Melbourne captain Daisy Pearce, the previous year's All-Australian captain, was announced as the vice-captain.


2018 AFL Women's All-Australian team, Final team
Note: the position of coach in the AFL Women's All-Australian team is traditionally awarded to the coach of the premiership-winning team.


2018 AFL Women's Grand Final
The 2018 AFL Women's Grand Final was an Australian rules football match held on 24 March 2018 to determine the premiers of the 2018 AFL Women's season, the league's second season. It was contested by the Western Bulldogs and Brisbane and was won by the Western Bulldogs. The Bulldogs claimed their first AFL Women's premiership, whilst Brisbane suffered their second consecutive loss by six points in a Grand Final.


2018 AFL Women's Grand Final, Background
The Australian Football League (AFL) continued with the top-two qualification system, whereby the two highest ranked clubs would qualify for the grand final, rather than having a finals series. The date of the match clashed with the opening round of the 2018 AFL season, however the start time of 12:35 pm Australian Eastern Daylight Saving Time allowed the match to conclude before the first AFL premiership match to be held later that day, which featured the Brisbane men's team.


2018 AFL Women's Grand Final, Background, Qualification
Entering the final round of the regular season, five clubs were a mathematical chance of qualifying for the grand final, with the Bulldogs tied with Melbourne on points but ahead on percentage in the top two positions. The Brisbane Lions were considered the least likely to qualify, as they were in fifth place and needed to defeat Greater Western Sydney away from home and then rely on results in other matches.


2018 AFL Women's Grand Final, Background, Qualification
Brisbane's surprise 40-point win against Greater Western Sydney saw them leapfrog Adelaide, Greater Western Sydney and Melbourne into second place. The Bulldogs narrowly defeated Melbourne the following night, thereby clinching qualification and keeping Brisbane's season alive. Adelaide were considered strong favourites in the final match of the regular season against Collingwood, but Collingwood ran away with a surprise victory to ensure that Brisbane retained second position and qualified for their second consecutive grand final. Adelaide's match was watched on television by the Brisbane players, who celebrated wildly after it concluded. Despite the loss, Adelaide coach Bec Goddard congratulated the Western Bulldogs and Brisbane Lions for clinching the two spots in the grand final, saying "the two sides...are in there and I'm sure they will have a cracking contest next week."


2018 AFL Women's Grand Final, Background, Venue
It was announced by the AFL that the 2018 AFL Women's Grand Final would be played at Ikon Park. The decision was made on the basis that Ikon Park could manage a greater capacity than the Western Bulldogs' home ground the Whitten Oval. It was the first time an AFL Women's Grand Final was played in Melbourne.


2018 AFL Women's Grand Final, Match summary
The game was played in wet and blustery conditions, with heavy rain falling in the hours leading up to the game. This kept the crowd numbers down, with most huddled under the sheltered areas, and caused the scheduled pre-match entertainment by Missy Higgins to be cancelled. The first quarter opened with a Brisbane goal. Speedster Kate McCarthy brought the ball out of the centre and delivered it to forward Jess Wuetschner, who found Sophie Conway unmarked 20 metres out from goal with a precision pass. Conway then converted.


2018 AFL Women's Grand Final, Match summary
Conway had another opportunity a few minutes later, but chose to attempt a snap shot herself rather than send the ball to Wuetschner, who was alone in the goal square, and missed everything. Conway's goal was the only one kicked by either side in the first half. The Western Bulldogs seemed unable to get past key Brisbane defender Kate Lutkins. Kaitlyn Ashmore also had an opportunity from 15 metres out just before the half time siren, but also missed everything.


2018 AFL Women's Grand Final, Match summary
After the half time break, the rain abated, and Bulldogs midfielders Ellie Blackburn and Emma Kearney began to wrest control of the centre of the oval. The game remained tough and physical, with Kearney, who was well-contained by Brisbane tagger Nat Exon for most of the day, turning aside assistance offered by one of the trainers, and there were injury concerns for Kirsty Lamb. Deanna Berry somehow evaded two defenders and managed to kick the Bulldogs' first goal with a long shot from outside the 50-metre arc.


2018 AFL Women's Grand Final, Match summary
This was followed in quick succession by another, dribbled in by Kirsten McLeod, who had been brought in to replace the suspended Katie Brennan, but had not touched the ball in the first half. Monique Conti, an 18-year-old who also played in the basketball grand final with the Melbourne Boomers, and wound up being voted best on ground, concluded the third term with a goal from a ball delivered to her by McLeod, giving the Bulldogs a 14-point lead.


2018 AFL Women's Grand Final, Match summary
The Brisbane Lions fought back in the final quarter. Wuetschner dribbled in a goal to peg the Bulldogs' lead back to eight points. Kearney responded with a fourth Bulldogs goal, but Wuetschner kicked her second in reply. In the dying minutes of the game, the Brisbane Lions surged forward, seeking a fourth major that would tie the game and send it into extra time. The ball was marked in the dying seconds of the game by Bulldogs' defender Naomi Ferres, who grasped it as the final siren sounded.


2018 AFL Women's Grand Final, Match summary
When it came time to raise the winner's cup at the end of medal presentations, acting captain Ellie Blackburn declared: "I can't hold that cup up alone – KB, get up here!" The two raised the cup together, Brennan lifting her shirt to reveal the Bulldogs' guernsey beneath. The gesture invoked memories of the 2016 AFL Grand Final, when injured Bulldogs skipper Robert Murphy was similarly called up on stage to raise the cup.


2018 AFL Women's Grand Final, Teams
The teams were announced on 22 March. Western Bulldogs captain Katie Brennan was a prominent exclusion from the team, after she was suspended by the Tribunal for a sling tackle executed in the final match of the home-and-away season against Melbourne. The tribunal's decision to reject Brennan's appeal was met with surprise by some, who thought the punishment was not in line with expectations in the men's game. Brennan subsequently lodged a proceeding with the Australian Human Rights Commission in an attempt to have the AFL amend the differences between the AFLW regulations and the AFL regulations. Brisbane named an unchanged line-up.


2018 AFL Women's Grand Final, Media coverage
The 2018 AFL Women's Grand Final was broadcast on the Seven Network, as part of a broadcasting rights deal that saw Seven West Media gain broadcasting rights to all matches of the 2018 AFL Women's season, airing on the Seven Network, 7mate, or the video on demand service, PLUS7. Outside of Australia, it was made available live and for replay on the Watch AFL subscription web site and app.


2018 AFL Women's Rising Star
The AFL Women's Rising Star is an Australian rules football award given annually to the best young player in the AFL Women's (AFLW) for the year. Two eligible players are nominated each round of the home-and-away season; the players must have been under 21 at the beginning of the year and cannot have been previously nominated. Players suspended during the year cannot win. After the season's completion, an expert panel votes on the recipient.


2018 AFL Women's Rising Star
National Australia Bank continued its sponsorship of the award in 2018, offering $20,000 in prize money. The winner was announced at the AFLW's awards ceremony on 27 March, held at Peninsula, an event space in Docklands, Melbourne, and live-streamed on AFL.com.au. The ten members of the voting panel were Australian Football League (AFL) officials Nicole Livingstone, who served as the chair, Steve Hocking, Josh Vanderloo and Grant Williams; AFL Victoria's Darren Flanigan; Tim Harrington of the AFL Players Association (AFLPA); St Kilda's Peta Searle; and media commentators Sharelle McMahon, Kelli Underwood and Shelley Ware.


2018 AFL Women's Rising Star
The winner was Chloe Molloy, a defender playing for Collingwood, who was the first recipient to poll the maximum 50 votes. Molloy also won the AFLPA's inaugural award for the AFLW's best first-year player, as voted by her peers; was named Collingwood's best and fairest overall and best first-year player; finished equal-second in the AFLW best and fairest behind Emma Kearney; and was named in the back pocket of the All-Australian team. The Western Bulldogs accrued the most nominations during the season, with five players (Libby Birch, Monique Conti, Naomi Ferres, Bonnie Toogood and Aisling Utri) selected.


2018 AFL Women's Under 18 Championships
The 2018 NAB AFL Women's Under 18 Championships was played between May and July 2018, with six teams competing in the main 'Series 2' round robin tournament and with a further four playing in a two-match on-on-one exhibition as the competition's initial 'Series 1'.


2018 AFL Women's Under 18 Championships, Format
The competition was opened with 'Series 1', a set of closed competitions between four pairs of teams representing the country's eight largest states and territories. In 'Series 2' teams representing Vic Country, Vic Metro, Queensland and Western Australia were joined by Central and Eastern Allies teams representing teams of the combined regions of Northern Territory and South Australia (Central) as well as New South Wales, ACT and Tasmania (Eastern). Each team played a total of three matches in that series.


2018 AFL Women's Under 18 Championships, Format
Vic Country finished the round-robin 'Series 2' as the only team undefeated in that series, making them the de facto tournament winners. The competition's best player award was jointly won by Vic Country's Nina Morrison and by the previous year's outright winner, Madison Prespakis of Vic Metro.


2018 AFL Women's Under 18 Championships, All-Australian team
The 2018 Women's All-Australian team was decided following an all-star exhibition match between members of the 48-player squad. 13 of the players named were 'top-aged' and draft eligible that year, while the remaining nine were 'bottom-aged'.


2018 AFL Women's Under 18 Championships, Team MVPs
At the conclusion of the tournament each competing team named their best player for the tournament. The winner of these 'most valuable player' awards are as follows:


2018 AFL Women's best and fairest
The 2018 AFL Women's best and fairest was the second year the award was presented to the player adjudged the best and fairest player during the AFL Women's (AFLW) home-and-away season. Emma Kearney of the Western Bulldogs won the award with 14 votes.


2018 AFL Women's best and fairest, Voting procedure
The three field umpires (the umpires who control the flow of the game, as opposed to goal or boundary umpires) confer after each match and award three votes, two votes and one vote to the players they regard as the best, second-best and third-best in the match, respectively. The votes are kept secret until the awards night, and are read and tallied on the evening.


2018 AFL Women's draft
The 2018 AFL Women's (AFLW) draft consisted of the various periods when the ten clubs in the Australian rules football women's competition could recruit players prior to the competition's 2019 season.


2018 AFL Women's draft
As in the previous season, all player contracts are all capped at one-year deals, and all existing AFLW players must be re-signed prior to the 2019 season.


2018 AFL Women's draft, Salary
AFLW players salaries are managed and paid in full by the AFL on behalf of the clubs. For the 2019 season, the league and the AFLPA agreed to the AFLW's first collective bargaining agreement (CBA). The four-tiered system salary provided for two players per team in tier one, six in each of tier two and tier three, and the remaining players in tier four:


2018 AFL Women's draft, Expansion club signing period
From 11 May expansion clubs Geelong and North Melbourne were given a ten-day window to sign existing players from 2018 AFLW lists. These clubs could sign a maximum of four players between them from any existing club. No compensation was offered to those clubs losing players under this process, but the each player's existing club could make a counter-offer to the player. A number of deals were agreed to in principle and acknowledged by clubs prior to the opening of this window.


2018 AFL Women's draft, Signing and trading period
Beginning 23 May, clubs were given a 13-day window to re-sign players on their lists from the previous season During this time clubs were also permitted to arrange player and pick trades with other clubs.


2018 AFL Women's draft, Signing and trading period
Players who do not receive offers from their 2017 club will be free to sign with any club during the four-day free agency period starting 4 June or to nominate for the 2018 draft.


2018 AFL Women's draft, Signing and trading period, Free agency
A four-day free agency period was held from 4 June for clubs to secure non-signed players from other clubs.


2018 AFL Women's draft, Signing and trading period, Free agency
A second free agency period is expected to be opened at the conclusion of the draft, allowing un-drafted players to be signed.


2018 AFL Women's draft, Signing and trading period, Rookie signings
In the absence of a rookie draft, each club was required to sign two rookie players during a rookie signing period between 11 June and 28 September 2018; these rookie players must not have played Australian rules football within the previous three years or been involved in an AFLW high-performance program.


2018 AFL Women's draft, Signing and trading period, Inactive players
Following final list lodgements, a number of players experienced changing circumstances that made them unable to participate in the 2019 season. Clubs were granted permission to place these players on an inactive list, retaining rights to their services at a assigned cost in the 2019 draft while replacing them for the one season. In some cases, compensation was awarded in pre-draft listing at the cost of a discounted draft selection. Players on each club's inactive list ahead of the 2018 draft are listed below:


2018 AFL Women's draft, Draft
A draft was held at Melbourne's Marvel Stadium on 23 October 2018. As in previous drafts, players nominated a single state's draft pool, and players are eligible to be drafted only by clubs operating in their nominated state. In addition, Victorian players could nominate for one of three Victorian zones: Geelong, Melbourne metro, or the entire state.


2018 AFL Women's draft, Draft
An order for the draft was announced on 22 May that allocated Geelong and North Melbourne picks at the end of each of each round, and a number of compensation picks to Geelong and clubs that lost players to reflect the relative weakness of their recruiting period and their loss of talent respectively.


2018 AFL Women's draft, Draft, Undrafted free agency
A final free agency period opened after the conclusion of the draft, allowing clubs that passed on a draft selection to recruit from outside their state-based zone.


2018 AFL Women's season
The 2018 AFL Women's season was the second season of the elite women's Australian rules football competition. Eight teams competed in the league, the same as the previous season, all of which are associated with existing Australian Football League (AFL) clubs. The first game was played on Friday, 2 February, and concluded with the grand final on Saturday, 24 March.


2018 AFL Women's season, Premiership season
The full fixture was released on Friday 27 October 2017. Notable features of the draw include:


2018 AFL Women's season, Win/Loss table
Bold – Home gameX – ByeOpponent for round listed above marginThis table can be sorted by margin, winners are represented in the first half of each column, and losers are represented in the second half of each column once sorted


2018 AFL Women's season, Grand final
In the absence of a finals series, the two teams who finished the highest on the ladder at the end of the home and away season played in the AFL Women's Grand Final.


2018 AFL draft
The 2018 AFL draft consisted of the various periods where the 18 clubs in the Australian Football League (AFL) traded and recruited players following the completion of the 2018 AFL season.


2018 AFL draft
For the first time, the AFL draft featured live trading of picks and was held over two days, with the first round held on the evening of Thursday, 22 November and the remainder of the draft being held on Friday, 23 November  The draft was held in Victoria for the first time since 2009.


2018 AFL draft, Player movements, Previous trades
Since 2015, clubs have been able to trade future picks in the next year's national draft during the trade period. As a result, a total of 29 selections for the 2018 draft were traded during the 2017 trade period, and the selection order for each of these picks is tied to the original club's finishing position in the 2018 season.


2018 AFL draft, Pre-draft selections
Prior to the draft, the two bottom teams Carlton and Gold Coast applied for Priority Picks in the National Draft, which the AFL denied. However, Gold Coast were granted pre-draft access to up to three and Carlton up to two mature-aged State League players each, these selections could be traded to other clubs.


2018 AFL draft, 2018 national draft, Rookie elevations
Clubs were able to promote any player who was listed on their rookie list in 2018 to their 2019 primary playing list prior to the draft.


2018 AFL draft, 2019 rookie draft, Category B rookie selections
Clubs were able to nominate category B rookies to join their club in 2019.


2018 AFL draft, 2019 rookie draft, Pre-season supplemental selection period
Shortly before the National draft, the AFL introduced a new mechanism to allow clubs to sign certain eligible players direct to their Rookie List, rather than through the draft, provided the club had vacancies on their rookie list. Eligible players could be listed between December and March.


2018 AFL finals series
The 2018 Australian Football League finals series was the 122nd annual edition of the VFL/AFL finals series, the Australian rules football tournament staged to determine the winner of the 2018 AFL season. The finals ran over four weekends in September 2018, culminating with the 2018 AFL Grand Final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 29 September 2018.


2018 AFL finals series
The top eight teams from the 2018 season qualified for the finals series, which has been played under the current format since 2000.


2018 AFL finals series, Venues
The matches of the 2018 AFL finals series were contested at three venues around the country. The newly built Perth Stadium hosted its first finals, hosting West Coast's qualifying and preliminary finals. The MCG hosted Richmond's qualifying and preliminary finals, both semi finals (hosted by Hawthorn and Collingwood), as well as Melbourne's elimination final. The SCG hosted its first Sydney derby final.


2018 AFL finals series, Matches
The system used for the 2018 AFL finals series is a final eight system. The top four teams in the eight receive the "double chance" when they play in week-one qualifying finals, such that if a top-four team loses in the first week it still remains in the finals, playing a semi-final the next week against the winner of an elimination final. The bottom four of the eight play knock-out games – only the winners survive and move on to the next week. Home-state advantage goes to the team with the higher ladder position in the first two weeks, to the qualifying final winners in the third week.


2018 AFL finals series, Matches
In the second week, the winners of the qualifying finals receive a bye to the third week. The losers of the qualifying final plays the elimination finals winners in a semi-final. In the third week, the winners of the semi-finals from week two play the winners of the qualifying finals in the first week. The winners of those matches move on to the Grand Final at the MCG in Melbourne.


2018 AFL finals series, Matches, Week one (qualifying and elimination finals), First qualifying final (Richmond vs. Hawthorn)
The first qualifying final saw minor premiers and defending premier Richmond defeat the fourth placed Hawthorn at the MCG in the third-ever Thursday night final and first in Victoria. Despite both clubs' presence in the competition for almost 100 years, this was the first meeting between Richmond and Hawthorn in a final.


2018 AFL finals series, Matches, Week one (qualifying and elimination finals), First elimination final (Melbourne vs. Geelong)
The first elimination final was held between fifth placed Melbourne and eighth placed Geelong at the MCG. Melbourne returned to the finals for the first time in twelve years, securing two impressive wins over West Coast and Greater Western Sydney in the final two rounds of the home and away season to earn a home final for the first time since the corresponding first elimination final in 2006. Geelong, meanwhile, looked in danger of missing the eight late in the home and away season but recorded two victories by 133 and 102 points over Fremantle and Gold Coast, respectively, to secure their eleventh finals berth in twelve years.


2018 AFL finals series, Matches, Week one (qualifying and elimination finals), First elimination final (Melbourne vs. Geelong)
This marked the eighth final between the two sides, having previously met in a Sectional Round 1 Final in 1900, the 1925 Semi Final, 1937 Semi Final, 1950 First Semi Final, 1954 Preliminary Final, 1989 First Semi Final and 2005 Second Elimination Final.


2018 AFL finals series, Matches, Week one (qualifying and elimination finals), Second elimination final (Sydney vs. Greater Western Sydney)
The second elimination final saw Sydney and Greater Western Sydney face each other in a finals match for the second time in three years, after the two sides had previously met in the 2016 first qualifying final. It was the first finals match between the pair to be played at the Sydney Cricket Ground, after the 2016 final was played at Stadium Australia.


2018 AFL finals series, Matches, Week one (qualifying and elimination finals), Second qualifying final (West Coast vs. Collingwood)
The second qualifying final sees second placed West Coast host third-placed Collingwood at Optus Stadium; the first final at the new venue. This marks the sixth final between the two sides, having previously contested a qualifying final and replay in 1990, a qualifying final in 1994, a semi final in 2007, a qualifying final in 2011 and a semi final in 2012.


2018 AFL finals series, Matches, Week two (semi-finals), First semi-final (Hawthorn vs. Melbourne)
This was the seventh finals meeting between Hawthorn and Melbourne, and the first since the 1990 elimination final.


2018 AFL finals series, Matches, Week two (semi-finals), Second semi-final (Collingwood vs. Greater Western Sydney)
This was the first finals meeting between Collingwood and Greater Western Sydney.


2018 AFL finals series, Matches, Week three, First preliminary final (Richmond vs. Collingwood)
This was the seventeenth finals meeting between Richmond and Collingwood, and the first since the 1980 Grand Final. Richmond have won nine of those games, while Collingwood have won eight. This was the first time that Collingwood has defeated Richmond in a final since 1937.


2018 AFL finals series, Matches, Week three, Second preliminary final (West Coast vs. Melbourne)
This was the fifth finals meeting between West Coast and Melbourne. The clubs previously met in the 1988 elimination final, the 1990 semi final, the 1991 semi final and the 1994 preliminary final. West Coast won three of those four games.


2018 AFL season
The 2018 Australian Football League season was the 122nd season of the elite Australian rules football competition and the 29th under the name 'Australian Football League', having switched from 'Victorian Football League' after 1989. There were 18 teams competing in the league, the same as the previous six seasons. The first game was played on Thursday, 22 March, and the season concluded with the 2018 AFL Grand Final on Saturday, 29 September between West Coast and Collingwood. West Coast defeated Collingwood by five points, winning their fourth premiership.


2018 AFL season, Pre-season, AFLX
On 17 November 2017, the AFL confirmed that the pre-season would feature an AFLX competition. The game is played on a soccer-sized pitch over two ten minute halves. Each team features seven players on the field and three interchange players. Teams were split into three groups of six, with a grand final to be held for each group. The matches were played from 15–17 February 2018. The winners of the competition were Adelaide, Melbourne and Brisbane.


2018 AFL season, Pre-season, JLT Community Series
The pre-season series of games returned as the 2018 JLT Community Series. The number of games was reduced compared to the previous season, with teams playing two games each. The games were stand-alone, with no overall winner of the series. Each team played two games, many at suburban or regional venues, while all games were televised on Fox Footy.


2018 AFL season, Win/loss table
Bold – Home gameX – ByeOpponent for round listed above margin


2018 AFLX competition
The 2018 AFLX competition was the inaugural Australian Football League (AFL) pre-season series of matches, played under the laws of AFLX, a variation of Australian rules football. The matches were played from 15–17 February 2018.


2018 AFLX competition, Fixtures
The AFL released the fixture and format for the three groups on 24 January 2018. Each of the groups were split into two pools of three teams, with the top team from each pool playing off in a grand final.


2018 AG2R La Mondiale season
The 2018 season for the AG2R La Mondiale cycling team will begin in January at the Tour Down Under. As a UCI WorldTeam, they will be automatically invited and obligated to send a squad to every event in the UCI World Tour.


2018 AG37
2018 AG37 (nicknamed FarFarOut) is a distant trans-Neptunian object and centaur that was discovered 132.2 ± 1.5 AU (19.78 ± 0.22 billion km) from the Sun, farther than any other currently observable known object in the Solar System. Imaged in January 2018 during a search for the hypothetical Planet Nine, the confirmation of this object was announced in a press release in February 2021 by astronomers Scott Sheppard, David Tholen, and Chad Trujillo. The object was nicknamed "FarFarOut" to emphasize its distance from the Sun. With an estimated diameter of 400 km (250 mi), it is near the lower limit for a dwarf planet candidate.


2018 AG37
At a very faint apparent magnitude of 25, only the largest telescopes in the world can observe it. Being so far from the Sun, 2018 AG37 moves very slowly among the background stars and has been observed only nine times in the first two years. It requires an observation arc of several years to refine the uncertainties in the approximately 700-year orbital period and determine whether it is currently near or at aphelion (farthest distance from the Sun). As of September 2021, the nominal JPL Horizons solution shows that it reached aphelion around the year 2005 at almost 133 AU, whereas Project Pluto shows it reached aphelion around 1960 at 135 AU.


2018 AG37, Discovery
2018 AG37 was first imaged on 15 January 2018 by astronomers Scott Sheppard, David Tholen, and Chad Trujillo using the 8.2-meter Subaru Telescope at Mauna Kea Observatory, Hawaii. They were surveying the sky with the largest telescopes to find distant Solar System objects and the hypothetical Planet Nine, whose existence they proposed in 2014.