Police in Cape Town, South Africa, have opened an investigation into the death of football player Jayden Adams, whose body was found shortly after he returned from North America, where he played in the FIFA World Cup.
A 25-year-old midfielder on South Africa’s national team, Adams was found dead at a home in the Schotsche Kloof neighbourhood of Cape Town. The South African Football Players Union confirmed his death on Saturday.
The cause of death has not been revealed.
Adams started two of the three World Cup matches he appeared in for South Africa, despite the death of his grandmother, Marianna, one day before the 1-1 draw with the Czech Republic. He started in that match, as well as the game in which South Africa lost 2-0 to Mexico. He was a substitute in a 1-0 win over South Korea.
He was an unused substitute when South Africa was knocked out of the tournament by Canada on June 28.
“The family is struggling to process it. It won’t be easy to carry on,” the player’s father, Juanito Adams, said on Sunday, according to South Africa news service eNCA.
“People say it will become easier, but it won’t. You just learn to live with it. So, we’ll see what the time ahead holds for us.
“The whole world is reacting to Jayden’s death. Like I said, it’s very tough. We can see the love the world had for his soccer and for Jayden.”
A moment of silence was held for Adams before the quarterfinal match between England and Norway on Saturday.
“I shall carry forever the humble, appreciative response he gave me,” South Africa minister of sports, arts and culture, Gayton McKenzie, said in a statement, referencing Adams’s decision to play so soon after his grandmother’s death.
“That he chose to wear the national jersey and give his all for his country in that moment speaks to a depth of character and professionalism well beyond his years, and it reflects the calibre of young man South Africa has lost.”
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