South African midfielder Jayden Adams, who represented his country in the 2026 World Cup, has died at the age of 25, according to what South African Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie announced on Saturday.
“It is with profound shock and sadness that I learned of the death of Jayden Addams,” McKenzie said in a statement.
The minister did not reveal the cause of death, adding: “South African football has lost one of its most prominent young talents.”
For its part, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) mourned the player, and wrote on the “X” platform: “Football has lost one of its sons.”
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said that he was “deeply saddened” by the death of Adams, offering “deepest condolences and sympathy, in my name and on behalf of all members of FIFA and the world football family, to his family, friends and teammates.”
Police said they opened an investigation after the body of a 25-year-old man was found inside a house in the Shuchikloof neighbourhood, located in downtown Cape Town, on Saturday morning.
“The circumstances of this incident are still under investigation,” Western Cape provincial police spokesman FC van Wijk told AFP.
Adams participated in all three of South Africa’s matches in the group stage of the World Cup, and contributed to the “Bafana Bafana” team reaching the round of 32 for the first time in its history, but he missed the last match against Canada.
He was also part of the South African national team squad that won third place in the 2024 Africa Cup, which was held in Ivory Coast.
Adams was born in Cape Town, and graduated through the Stellenbosch FC academy, before becoming the first player to graduate from the club’s academy and sign a professional contract in August 2020.
He played 139 matches for Stellenbosch, and contributed to winning the Carling Cup title in 2023, before moving to Mamelodi Sundowns in January 2025.
With Sundowns, he added the South African League title to his record, in addition to winning the African Champions League.
His death comes less than a month after the passing of his grandmother, on the eve of South Africa’s confrontation with the Czech Republic in the first group matches at Atlanta Stadium.
The South African Football Association said at the time: “Jayden participated as a starter in the Czech match, and gave everything he had despite the pain he was carrying after the death of his grandmother.”