A memorial service for Jaden Adams was held in South Africa; the player had dreamed of playing for Liverpool.

According to ESPN, at Stellenbosch's memorial service on Thursday, a video from his agency played out Jaden Adams's desire to play for Liverpool.

At Jaden Adams' memorial service at Stellenbosch, a video of the former South African midfielder from Forwardzone was played, in which he expressed his dream of playing for Liverpool.

Adams won the 2025-26 CAF Champions League title with the Mamelodi Sunset in May and represented South Africa at the World Cup in June. He was found dead at his Cape Town residence on Saturday, July 11, and police are investigating the cause of death.

In the video, Jaden Adams said, "My goal is to play in Europe. I want to play for Liverpool. That's my team, so that's my biggest goal."

Stellenbosch is about an hour's drive from Cape Town city centre. The video also shows footage of Adams playing for local club Stellenbosch FC. In 2020, he became the club's first academy player to sign a professional contract before transferring to Mamelodi Sunset in January 2025.

Footage shown at the memorial service revealed that Adams' father, Juanito Adams, was also a Liverpool fan. Prior to supporting his son, he had been a Kaiserslautern supporter. Later, Jaden helped rivals Sundowns win the South African title in the 2024-25 season, followed by the African title the following season.

At the young age of 25, Adams was already an indispensable member of Miguel Cardozo's Sunset team, playing a role similar to that of Javier Mascherano at Liverpool from 2007 to 2010.

"Jaden's passing will leave a huge void, and it will be hard to find someone to fill it," said Ron Wayne Williams, captain of the South African national team and goalkeeper for the Mamelodi Sunset, at a private memorial service held at Stellenbosch City Hall on Thursday afternoon. "It is important for his family to stand together, draw strength from each other, and continue to commemorate Jaden's life, his career, and his achievements." A public memorial service was also held at the same location that evening.

“Jaden is a very quiet and polite child. Sometimes you might even forget he’s in the room, but his smile and laughter can always brighten up any room.”

"Although he is usually very quiet, he never backs down when it comes to fighting."

Adams played in three of the four World Cup matches for South Africa, helping the team reach the knockout stage for the first time in the history of the Men's World Cup.