Dies at 25 years old Jayden Adams, footballer who played in the World Cup with South Africa

BarcelonaSorrow in the football world after the news of the death of Jayden Adams, a 25-year-old footballer who participated in the World Cup with the South African national team. The tragic news was confirmed by the South African Football Federation through a statement published on its X account. “Death has cruelly arrived for one of ours and deprives our nation of an extraordinary footballer, but it can never take away the legacy that Jayden Adams leaves us. We will always remember his humility, his extraordinary talent, and the pride with which he represented South Africa. Rest in peace, Jayden. We will never forget you,” explained the Federation. The South African ministry of sports also issued a statement of condolence. According to local media reports, his body was found in a house in Schotschekloof, a neighborhood of Cape Town. These same media outlets reported, citing police sources investigating the case, that Adams may have taken his own life.

Adams, who played for Mamelodi Sundowns FC in the South African league, played the first three matches of the tournament – in which his team was eliminated in the round of 32 – two as a starter and one coming off the bench, the one in which the South Africans managed to defeat South Korea. South Africa thus won a match in the final phase of a World Cup for the first time and also advanced from the group stage, a feat they had never achieved before in their World Cup participations.

Having trained at the Stellenbosch FC academy, Adams made his professional football debut in 2020. With this team he played 139 matches, winning the local League Cup, before joining Mamelodi Sundowns, the most powerful team in the South African league, in January 2025. With Mamelodi Sundowns of Pretoria, he had won both the league and the African Champions League this same season. His good performances had opened the door to the senior national team of the bafana bafana, as the national team is known.

His death comes less than a month after the death of his grandmother, on the eve of South Africa's Group A match against Czechia at the Atlanta stadium. “Jayden started in the match against Czechia and gave his all while carrying the burden of losing his grandmother,” the South African Football Association said at the time.