WASHINGTON (TNND) — South Africa’s international midfielder Jayden Adams, who played in all three of South Africa’s group-stage games at the 2026 World Cup, has died, according to the country’s sports ministry on Saturday.
Currently, no cause of death has been shared.
Adams, 25, played in Group A’s games against Mexico and the Czech Republic as well as leading the 1-0 win over South Korea.
Adams’ grandmother died a day before South Africa played the Czechs, and replaced at halftime.
“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.
South Africa’s minister of sport, Gayton McKenzie, also expressed his condolences about the young player’s death.
“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 said in a statement.
FIFA’s 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.”