SOUTH AFRICA WORLD CUP MIDFIELDER JAYDEN ADAMS DIES AT 25

Jayden Adams of South Africa looks to pass during ...

Cape Town (Reuters) —  South Africa international midfielder Jayden Adams, who featured in all three of his side’s group stage games at the 2026 World Cup, has died, the country’s sports ministry said on Saturday.

No cause of death was given.

Adams, 25, started the Group A fixtures against Mexico and the Czech Republic, and came off the bench in the 1-0 win over South Korea that earned the side a first ever place in the knockout rounds, where they were beaten by Canada.

The player’s grandmother died a day before South Africa played the Czechs, and he was replaced at halftime during the fixture.

He played for the Pretoria-based Mamelodi Sundowns in South Africa, helping them to the African Champions League title in the 2025/26 season.

“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.

“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 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.”

Sundowns and SAFA did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.

Adams came through the youth development structures at Stellenbosch FC and joined Sundowns in January 2025.

He made his international debut against Mozambique in 2022 and won 13 caps, scoring two goals, both in qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.

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 “We’ve always recognized the immense footballing potential that exists across the continent… the sheer volume of promising young players [in Africa] is astounding.” – Nathan Campbell

Roc Nation Sports International (RNSI), a division of entertainment company Roc Nation founded by American music mogul Jay-Z, has committed to the African football market by signing up eight promising youngsters from the continent.

While they are not the agency’s first cohort of African football players–17-year-old Cape Town City winger Emile Witbooi achieved that feat earlier this year–their latest additions indicate a global company geared for long-term investment on the African continent.

“We believe Africa is a hotbed of untapped footballing potential, and our expansion here is a natural progression of our global vision,” RNSI’s Head of Global Recruitment for Football, Nathan Campbell, said in a statement.

“Our strategy is built on deep collaboration with local partners, allowing us to understand and address the unique needs of African players, ensuring they receive the best possible support to reach their full potential.”

Founded in 2019 as Roc Nation’s sports wing, RNSI represents over 100 football players, headlined by Real Madrid duo Vinicius Junior and Endrick, alongside Napoli’s Kevin De Bruyne.

The global music personalities affiliated with Roc Nation include such names as Rihanna, Alicia Keys, and J Balvin.

Roc Nation’s concerted move into African football seemed only a matter of time. The earliest sign came in 2021 through a consultancy agreement with South African giants Mamelodi Sundowns—a partnership that continues to this day.

With Witbooi signing on in February this year, it seemed only a matter of time before more African talent followed. The scale, however, was unknown.

“Africa has been a key part of our long-term global vision at RNSI,” says Campbell in an interview with FORBES AFRICA. “We’ve always recognized the immense footballing potential that exists across the continent… the sheer volume of promising young players [in Africa] is astounding.”

Six African nations are represented in their eight-player haul, from Kaizer Chiefs striker Neo Bohloko (South Africa) and Benab FC midfielder Joseph Narbi (Ghana), to Al Nasr attacker Mamadou Diallo (Guinea) and Sibonor United winger Francis Gomez (The Gambia).

The remaining four include Ifeoluwa Olowoporoku (Nigeria), Tadiwa Chakuchichi (Zimbabwe), Siyabonga Mabena (South Africa), and Ali Umar (Ghana). All players, except the latter two (18), are between 16 and 17 years old.

“We saw the opportunity not just to identify elite talent, but to partner with local stakeholders and provide the comprehensive support these young athletes need both on and off the pitch… The African players currently on our roster are just the beginning.”

RNSI has confirmed it is currently scouring Zambia and the Ivory Coast for more talent. The opportunity opens unique commercial avenues for players previously limited by access and exposure, thus uncovering Africa’s next crop of footballing prodigies.

- Freddie Hiney, Forbes

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FIFA DEFENDS CLUB WORLD CUP TICKET SALES AMID LOW ATTENDANCE FIGURES

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(Image: Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

FIFA has come out to defend the ticket sales for the Club World Cup amidst noticeably sparse attendance at a recent group stage match.

Only 3,412 spectators were present for the fixture featuring Ulsan HD of South Korea and Mamelodi Sundowns from South Africa in Orlando, starkly fewer than the 22,317 fans who witnessed Chelsea’s kickoff against Los Angeles FC in Atlanta, hosted by a stadium with a 71,000 capacity.

This tournament has sparked controversy since its launch, leading to lawsuits from domestic leagues and players' unions against FIFA over claimed insufficient communication concerning fixture scheduling.

While some matches have drawn significant crowds – notably over 80,000 attending Paris St Germain's win over Atletico Madrid in Pasadena – FIFA announced on Tuesday that nearly 1.5 million tickets have been sold thus far.

According to FIFA, the initial eight matches drew an impressive 340,000 attendees, showcasing the broad global appeal of club football. The organisation highlighted that four out of the top five best-selling group stage games are yet to occur.

Manchester City is set to open their campaign against Morocco’s Wydad Casablanca on Wednesday evening.

There are substantial financial rewards up for grabs, with the potential for City or Chelsea to bag almost £100million if they claim victory in the tournament.

Despite these lucrative stakes, former Manchester City defender Danny Mills has labelled the competition as "pointless".

Speaking to William Hill Vegas, he shared his bafflement: "I don't get it and I don't understand what kudos it brings.

"It might be a nice day out for the minnows like Auckland City FC, but for players from the top clubs, like Paris St Germain, Real Madrid and Manchester City, at the end of their careers, they are not going to care if they won the Club World Cup or not.

"It's a made-up competition for FIFA to make money, it's as simple as that. There is no prestige in winning the competition whatsoever.

"I don't really know if many people are watching it but there doesn't seem to be much interest in the matches at all. It's an unnecessary tournament."

The FIFA Club World Cup will see 32 of the world's best club teams including Man City, Chelsea, Real Madrid, PSG and Bayern Munich play across 63 games from June 14-July 13.

Fans can watch every match live and for free by signing up to DAZN.

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MOTSEPE RE-ELECTED AS LEADER OF AFRICAN FOOTBALL

 

Reuters 

South African mining magnate Patrice Motsepe was re-elected unopposed as Confederation of African Football president at the organisation’s congress in Cairo on Wednesday while four-time African Footballer of the Year Samuel Eto’o won a place on the executive committee.

The 63-year-old Motsepe, whose family trust owns one of the continent’s biggest clubs Mamelodi Sundowns, will serve a second four-year term after being first elected in 2021 when his candidature was also unopposed and heavily backed by FIFA president Gianni Infantino.

Eto'o, president of the Cameroon Football Federation, was elected unopposed as a representative for the central African region on the executive committee less than a week after winning an appeal to stand for the post.

He was excluded by CAF's governance committee in January but appealed his case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, who ruled in his favour.

Former World Cup footballer Eto'o had been twice banned last year.

Reuters 

In September, FIFA banned him from attending the national team's matches for six months for violating disciplinary regulations, after allegedly verbally abusing match officials at the Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Colombia.

Earlier in the year, CAF banned Eto'o after an inquiry into purported breaches of its ethical and integrity standards when he took up a role as ambassador for a betting company. The ban and a $200,000 fine were later lifted on appeal.

There were five others elected unopposed with Mustapha Ishola Raji of Liberia retaining his seat for another four years, while Bestine Kazadi Ditabala (female representative from the Democratic Republic of Congo), Wallace Karia (Tanzania), Kurt Simeon-Okraku (Ghana) and Sadi Walid (Algeria) are new to the committee.

Elvis Chetty of the Seychelles lost his place when Feizal Sidat (Mozambique) and Samir Sobha of Mauritius were voted in to represent southern Africa on the CAF executive committee.

There was also a vote to decide the six African representatives on the FIFA Council with Hany Abo Rida of Egypt, a member since 2009, and Fouzi Lekjaa of Morocco retaining their places.

Kanizat Ibrahim (Comoros), Hamidou Djibrilla Hima (Niger), Ahmed Yahya (Mauritania) and Souleymane Waberi (Djibouti) were elected for the first time.

Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Christian Radnedge

- Reuters