{"id":329670,"date":"2026-07-13T16:24:23","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T16:24:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/329670\/"},"modified":"2026-07-13T16:24:23","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T16:24:23","slug":"south-africa-world-cup-player-jayden-adams-dies-aged-25","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/329670\/","title":{"rendered":"South Africa World Cup player Jayden Adams dies aged 25"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jayden Adams, the Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder who was a member of South Africa<\/a>\u2019s FIFA World Cup 2026 squad, has passed away at the age of 25.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Per BBC<\/a>, Adams played in all three of South Africa\u2019s group games. Co-hosts Canada<\/a> then knocked them out in the round of 32.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is with profound shock and a heavy heart that I have learnt of the passing of Jayden Adams,\u201d South Africa\u2019s minister of sport, arts and culture Gayton McKenzie said, in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cSouth African football has lost one of its brightest young talents, and our nation mourns alongside his family, his team-mates and the millions of supporters who watched him grow from a promising academy prospect into a full Bafana Bafana international.\u201d<\/p>\n

Authorities in South Africa said they have since launched an investigation into his death. Adams\u2019 body was found at his Cape Town home<\/a> on Saturday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cause of Jayden\u2019s 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,\u201d McKenzie said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAny official information will be communicated by the appropriate parties in due course.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ ALSO: World Cup worker killed by suspected drunk driver while walking home from SoFi Stadium<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Adams\u2019 grandmother died just a few hours before South Africa\u2019s World Cup<\/a> match against the Czech Republic. He, however, played in the match that ultimately ended 1-1.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The South African Football Players Union, in a statement, said that Adams\u2019 \u201cuntimely passing\u201d had left them \u201cdevastated.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJayden had only recently represented South Africa at the 2026 World Cup, carrying the hopes of the nation with pride, courage and distinction,\u201d the statement added.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis passing is an immeasurable loss to his family, team-mates, clubs, the football fraternity and the country at large. 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so incredibly sad to hear that South Africa midfielder Jayden Adams has passed away just weeks after featuring in his nation\u2019s historic Fifa World Cup campaign,\u201d Fifa president Gianni Infantino said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy thoughts and condolences, as well as those of everyone at Fifa and the global football community, are with his family, friends and team-mates. The Bafana Bafana and Mamelodi Sundowns star will be sorely missed. May he rest in peace.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ ALSO: Egypt coach slams refereeing decisions after defeat to Argentina<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jayden Adams, the Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder who was a member of South Africa\u2019s FIFA World Cup 2026 squad,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":329671,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[52],"tags":[145,22386,144684,27663,131],"class_list":["post-329670","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-south-africa","tag-bafana-bafana","tag-fifa-world-cup-2026","tag-jayden-adams","tag-mamelodi-sundowns","tag-south-africa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@africa\/116913600750660364","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329670","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=329670"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329670\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/329671"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=329670"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=329670"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=329670"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}