South Africa Midfielder Jayden Adams Dies At 25, Weeks After World Cup Run

South African international midfielder Jayden Adams has died at age 25, just weeks after helping his country reach the World Cup knockout stage for the first time in its history, officials confirmed Saturday.

Adams’s body was found Saturday morning at a residence on Military Road in the Schotschekloof suburb of central Cape Town, and Western Cape police have opened an inquest into his death. A cause of death has not been released. South Africa’s minister of sport, arts and culture, Gayton McKenzie, confirmed the news in a statement and asked the media and public to exercise restraint and avoid speculation while the cause remains unconfirmed.

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Adams, who played for Pretoria-based Mamelodi Sundowns, started South Africa’s Group A matches against Mexico and the Czech Republic and came off the bench in a 1-0 win over South Korea that sent the team, known as Bafana Bafana, into the knockout rounds for the first time ever.

South Africa was eliminated by co-host Canada in the round of 32, a match in which Adams did not play. He’d taken the field against the Czech Republic just hours after learning his grandmother had died, McKenzie said, and was substituted at halftime that game.

Adams came up through Stellenbosch FC’s youth academy before joining Sundowns in January 2025, helping the club win the CAF Champions League title this year — a trophy he dedicated to former Stellenbosch teammate Oshwin Andries, who died in a 2023 stabbing. He earned 13 caps for South Africa’s senior team since his 2022 debut, scoring twice, both in World Cup qualifiers.

Tributes poured in from across the sport. FIFA President Gianni Infantino wrote on Instagram that he was devastated by the loss and offered condolences on behalf of the global football community. Mamelodi Sundowns, owned by the Motsepe family, asked that the Adams family’s privacy be respected as they grieve.

The South African Football Players’ Union called his death an immeasurable loss to his family, teammates and the football fraternity, while South African President Cyril Ramaphosa also offered condolences, according to the CBC.

Adams’s death marks the third loss of a young player with ties to Stellenbosch FC in recent years, following Andries’s death and, the death of another young player, Jeandre Gaffoor, earlier this year.

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Article by Erik Meers