Cape Town
South Africa worldwide midfielder Jayden Adams, who featured in all three of his aspect’s group stage video games at the 2026 World Cup, has died, the nation’s sports activities ministry mentioned on Saturday.
No reason for dying was given.
Adams, 25, began the Group A fixtures in opposition to Mexico and the Czech Republic, and got here off the bench within the 1-0 win over South Korea that earned the aspect a primary ever place within the knockout rounds, the place they had been crushed by Canada.
The participant’s grandmother died a day earlier than South Africa performed the Czechs, and he was changed at halftime throughout the fixture.
He performed for the Pretoria-based Mamelodi Sundowns in South Africa, serving to them to the African Champions League title within the 2025/26 season.
“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 physique for gamers within the nation, mentioned in an announcement.
South Africa’s minister of sport Gayton McKenzie additionally expressed his condolences.
“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,” McKenzie mentioned in an announcement.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino provided his condolences through 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.”
Sundowns and SAFA didn’t instantly reply to Reuters’ requests for remark.
Adams got here by means of the youth growth constructions at Stellenbosch FC and joined Sundowns in January 2025.
He made his worldwide debut in opposition to Mozambique in 2022 and received 13 caps, scoring two objectives, each in qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.