For Jayden Adams, the South Africa midfielder who passed this month at the age of 25, football served as a refuge. Those remarks, offered by Adams’s early coach Steve Barker during his memorial service last Thursday, reveal much about his existence away from the field.

Adams faced challenges almost from the start. Although born into a newly democratic South Africa, by the early 2000s progress had slowed considerably. The right to vote reached everyone, yet many could not fully enjoy the opportunities because economic conditions across the nation remained largely unchanged. Stellenbosch, home to the Adams family, illustrates this clearly.

The surface presents a visitor’s ideal: a college town surrounded by vineyards, Cape Dutch buildings and small shops. Most outsiders stay in the central area and never enter the surrounding districts, which house the less fortunate and show signs of disregard. These zones reflect lingering divisions from the past, where resources stayed with a favored group and working-class neighborhoods of color stay overlooked.

Interestingly, that description fits Adams well. He stayed out of view, both in society and in the sport where he shone. “Jayden spoke little. He stayed quiet, quite reserved and was the smallest on his team,” Brendine Johnson, a family representative, notes. “At first many overlooked his playing ability due to his stature, yet he possessed real determination. It simply did not always show.”

Adams, whose service occurred on Saturday in Cape Town, cherished the sport and his aunt Monica Thaoge remembered how as a boy he would strike anything that rolled, even vegetables she noted at the gathering. His parents Juanito and Candice had mentioned potatoes as his preferred ball. No one in the household discusses money shortages because the neighborhood worked to improve daily life. Still gaps existed, especially at the beginning.

“Everyone in such districts focuses on getting by,” says Roger Telemachus, the former South Africa cricketer who lived on the same street as Adams’s father in Cloetesville. “Children may not have noticed as much since they stayed busy with sport. Some parents like Juanito pushed their kids and all played various games outside: tennis, football, rugby, cricket. It also helped avoid issues.”

Difficulties were visible to all and, per Telemachus, have grown “over the past two decades.” They cover gang activity, drug problems and offenses from minor to major. Adams left that setting when he moved to the somewhat better-off Ida’s Valley, yet comfort remained limited. For a time the six-person household with four children shared a two-room home. At other points they stayed with his grandmother Marianna on his mother’s side. “He spent much of his youth in her yard,” Johnson adds.

Change arrived when Adams joined the Stellenbosch Academy Under-18 squad at age 15. “The setting proved demanding, particularly if size was lacking, but once strength mattered less, observers noticed Jayden’s technical skill,” Johnson explains.

His mentors concur. Barker, nephew of South Africa’s Afcon-winning coach Clive and now leading Simba in Tanzania, gave a heartfelt view of Adams’s talent soon after the passing. “Many players show promise but few reach greatness. Jayden reached that level,” he told Newzroom Afrika.

“Jayden stood out through three qualities: a remarkable first touch, precise passing unlike any other I have seen, and deep love for the game. The field was his place of happiness. He did not simply pass the ball, he guided it gently. He was exceptional and his understanding of play was remarkable.”

Under Barker, Adams developed. He became the first from the academy to reach South Africa’s top division, the Premier Soccer League. Five years and a national team selection later, the wealthiest club Mamelodi Sundowns signed him. This year at the start of his second campaign with them, Adams cut his hair, joking it signaled maturity, and called himself a “grootman.” The name remained.

Adams never stated it, yet he may have recognized his own progress. By then he had been selected, featured and then left out of the national squad after arriving late to camp and upsetting coach Hugo Broos. He had also lost two academy teammates, one a close friend.

In February 2023, Oshwin Andries, aged 19, died from wounds received in Paarl, 16 km north of Stellenbosch. Three years later Jeandre Gaffoor, 20, drowned in the Krom River.

When Sundowns claimed the CAF Champions League in May, Adams gave his medal to Andries. Such losses have burdened the town, yet through Adams they found cause to celebrate.

His part in Sundowns’ continental win and a World Cup call-up indicated his path was climbing. After an opening season at Sundowns often from the bench with his role questioned, he grew central to the side. At the memorial Sundowns head coach Steve Komphela described him as “the core of our group and the pulse of our approach” who “grasped the game like a coach yet performed as a player.”

Over the past year Adams showed the promise those close to him had long seen and impressed others with his resolve. South Africa captain Ronwen Williams recalled an Africa Cup of Nations moment when the slight Adams confronted a tall Mali player with sharp local remarks. Williams asked if Adams knew the opponent’s size, yet Adams dismissed it and said the player would not understand anyway.

“That showed his spirit,” Williams said at the service, smiling through tears while saying goodbye to the teammate he called “my ma se kind.”

As his profile grew Adams avoided highlighting his success. “Jayden understood his ability but never spoke of it. He competed hard yet never boasted,” Johnson says. “Some excel at talking on social media. Jayden did not. He also wished to help others. After matches he gave shirts and boots to young fans who asked.”

He focused on supporting his family because he “had always vowed to improve their finances.”

At the World Cup Adams played for them despite great pain. His grandmother Marianna passed the day before South Africa faced Czechia and Adams chose to stay with the squad. He appeared in that match and seemed upbeat afterward, calling the 1-1 result good even while feeling otherwise.

He also played the following match against South Korea, which South Africa won to reach the knockout stage for the first time. Footage afterward showed him alone while teammates celebrated with their usual song and dance.

At the memorial Komphela shared a Bible verse with the Adams family for comfort, yet it could summarize the story. Psalm 23:4: “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.”

They know Adams took that path many times in his brief life and did not fear. He is survived by his parents, three siblings, a partner, two children and a neighborhood that has endured what no area should. Through it all he moved from avoiding notice to a week in the global football spotlight. A minute of silence was held at several World Cup matches in his honor. That was not how his family imagined worldwide recognition, yet it revealed that in football he was always more appreciated than many realized.

“I do not believe the neighborhood understood his stature or how many enjoyed his play,” Johnson says. “It remains a great shock.”