Hunt says Stellenbosch’s league opener should have been postponed after Adams’ death

Stellenbosch FC head coach Gavin Hunt says his side’s opening Betway Premiership match should have been postponed following the death of former academy player Jayden Adams.

Stellenbosch lost 1-0 to AmaZulu FC at Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium in Durban, with the match played a week after Adams’ funeral. Hunt said the club’s players and staff were still deeply affected by the death of a footballer who had spent more than a decade with Stellenbosch.

Adams joined the club as a child and progressed through every junior level before making his senior debut in August 2020. Five years later, he moved to Mamelodi Sundowns, where he won the Betway Premiership and CAF Champions League in a short period.

His death shocked the football world, with Adams widely regarded as a player of significant potential. He died in mid-July, shortly after returning from the FIFA World Cup.

Mamelodi Sundowns’ opening league fixture against Marumo Gallants was postponed. Hunt believes Stellenbosch should have received the same consideration because of Adams’ close and lengthy connection with the club.

“Thought the first game should have been called off, because of Jayden Adams. He was at the club for 12 years,” Hunt told the media.

“He’s been there [Sundowns] for one year. They got their game called off. We should have had our game called off.

“Everybody was like shocked; Devin [Titus] was devastated. This one, they were all, everybody was devastated, and it was like a total shock, and the game was on us.

“And maybe we should have had the game called off but we went ahead and played, and we weren’t ready for that first game, even though we were very, very unfortunate.

“But I love to play two games a week, three games a week. You know, but this week now can give us just a little bit of time to train and [work on things].”

The defeat by AmaZulu came during an emotionally difficult period for Stellenbosch, with Hunt saying the team had not been mentally prepared to return to competitive action so soon after Adams’ funeral.

Hunt also acknowledged that the club now had an opportunity to use the additional time available this week to train and address issues within the team. He said he generally welcomed a demanding schedule, including two or three matches in a week, but felt the circumstances surrounding the start of the season had made the postponement particularly important.

Adams had spent more than 10 years at Stellenbosch before joining Mamelodi Sundowns. His development from the club’s academy to the first team made him a prominent part of Stellenbosch’s football identity, while his early success with Sundowns underlined the scale of the loss felt across the game.

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