South Africa's Adams, who played at WC, dies at 25... — SkimNews
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- Jayden Adams, a 25-year-old Mamelodi Sundowns and Bafana Bafana midfielder, has died, the South African Football Players Union, the Ministry of Sport, Arts & Culture and his club confirmed Saturday, July 11.
- Adams started two of South Africa's three group games and came off the bench in their 1-0 win over South Korea on June 24 — the result that sealed Bafana's first-ever round-of-32 knockout berth at a World Cup.
- Cape Town Central police registered an inquest after his body was discovered at 11:06 on July 11 at a premises on Military Road in Scotscheskloof; spokesperson F.C. van Wyk said circumstances remain under investigation.
- Adams played in the 1-1 group-stage draw with Czechia the day after his grandmother Marianna Adams died — a decision Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie cited as reflecting 'character and professionalism well beyond his years.'
- Adams had won the CAF Champions League with Sundowns in May, dedicating his winners' medal to Oshwin Andries, a former Stellenbosch teammate who died in 2023 after a stabbing.
- FIFA president Gianni Infantino paid tribute on Instagram, calling Adams' passing 'incredibly sad' just weeks after South Africa's 'historic FIFA World Cup campaign.'
- Stellenbosch FC, Adams' development club before his January 2025 move to Sundowns, has now lost three young alumni since 2023 — Andries in 2023, Jeandre Gaffoor in early 2026, and Adams himself.
Why it matters: Cape Town police have opened an inquest into a death that came just two weeks after Adams featured in South Africa's historic World Cup run, with the cause not yet confirmed. His former development club Stellenbosch FC has now lost three young players since 2023 — Andries after a 2023 stabbing, Gaffoor in early 2026, and now Adams — making this the third such loss among the club's recent alumni in under three years.
Ask SkimNews
