A goalkeeper of Gambia’s national women’s football team has drowned in the Mediterranean trying to reach Europe in a boat.
Fatim Jawara, 19, was on board with several others last month in an attempt to cross from Libya to Europe–and the boat ran into trouble, the country’s football association says.
Her family confirmed news of her death, according to association president Lamin Kaba Bajo.
Jawara made her debut with the women’s side a year ago, after playing in the national junior team.
Many of the undocumented migrants who arrive in Italy are Gambians and according to International Organization for Migration (IOM) 4,200 migrants fleeing conflict and poverty have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean this year.