CAPE TOWN – South Africa international midfielder Jayden Adams, who featured in all three of his side’s group-stage games at the 2026 World Cup, has died, the country’s sports ministry said on July 11.
No cause of death was given.
Adams, aged 25, started the Group A games against Mexico and the Czech Republic, and came off the bench in the 1-0 win over South Korea that earned South Africa a place in the knockout stages for the first time. They were beaten 1-0 by co-hosts Canada in the last 32.
The player’s grandmother died a day before the African side played the Czechs and he was replaced at half-time during the fixture.
South Africa’s Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie said he reached out to Adams to offer condolences when she died.
“I shall carry forever the humble, appreciative response he gave me. That he chose to wear the national jersey and give his all for his country in that moment speaks to a depth of character and professionalism well beyond his years, and it reflects the calibre of a young man South Africa has lost,” McKenzie’s statement read.
Adams played for the Pretoria-based Mamelodi Sundowns in his country, helping them to the African Champions League title in the 2025-26 season. He dedicated his medal to the late Oshwin Andries, his former teammate at Stellenbosch, who died aged 19 after being stabbed in 2023.
“South African football has lost a gifted player, a proud servant of the game and a young life that still had so much to offer,” the South African Football Players Union, an official body for players in the country, said in a statement.
McKenzie also expressed his condolences in a statement: “Our nation mourns alongside his family, his teammates and the millions of supporters who watched him grow from a promising academy prospect into a full Bafana Bafana international.”
Football’s world governing body FIFA president Gianni Infantino offered his condolences via Instagram, saying his “thoughts and condolences, as well as those of everyone at FIFA and the global football community, are with his family, friends and teammates”.
According to a BBC report, police in South Africa said they had opened an investigation after the body of a 25-year-old man was found at a house in Schotsche Kloof, a suburb in Cape Town, on the morning of July 11.
McKenzie added: “The cause of Jayden’s passing has not yet been confirmed, and I wish to appeal to members of the media and the public to exercise restraint and compassion, and to refrain from speculation, while his family and Mamelodi Sundowns are given the space and privacy they need at this incredibly difficult time.
“Any official information will be communicated by the appropriate parties in due course.”
Adams came through the youth development structures at Stellenbosch and joined Sundowns in January 2025.
He made his international debut against Namibia in 2024 and won nine caps, scoring one goal for Bafana Bafana. REUTERS, AFP
