South African Football Association condemned Malaysian and Taiwanese Chinese media outlets Sin Chew Daily and TVBS for falsely attributing the sudden death of the country's 25-year-old inter

South African Football Association (SAFA) officials on Sunday, through state-run broadcaster SABC, condemned the Malaysian Chinese-language newspaper Sin Chew Daily, Taiwanese television station TVBS, and Chinese aggregators for falsely attributing the sudden death of 25-year-old South Africa international defensive midfielder Jayden Adams to "suicide."

According to the report, the SAFA expressed its disdain for the unverified, sensationalist, and unprofessional tactics of some foreign media outlets who, based solely on unverified information published by accounts claiming to be insiders on social media platforms, attributed Adams' death to "suicide."

The authorities urged the media and netizens to respect the grief of the player's family, to grant the deceased's relatives and friends private space to mourn, to adhere to the principles of not creating, believing, or spreading rumours, and to respect the ongoing investigation by forensic experts and relevant authorities into Adams' death.

About Jayden Adams

Adams, who died young at the age of 25, was born on May 5, 2001, in Cape Town, the capital of South Africa. He was 1.75 meters tall and played as a defensive midfielder.

Adams joined Stellenbosch's youth academy at a young age and completed his first-team debut by coming on as a substitute in a match in August 2020.

In January 2025, Adams moved to Mamelodi Sundowns.

During his time with the team, he won the South African Premier League title and the CAF Champions League title once each.

Adams became a member of the South African national team in 2022.

During his four-year international career, Adams represented South Africa in the group stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in United States, Canada and Mexico.

Off the pitch, Adams' life has been plagued by misfortune. In 2023, his teammate Oshwin Andries was tragically assassinated, and his grandmother also passed away during his participation in the World Cup, leading the player to suffer from depression.

Image source: Internet / SABC