Fatim Jawara (13 March 1997 – 27 October 2016) was a Gambian

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played for the Gambia women's national team and top Gambian women's football club Red Scorpions FC. In 2012, she played as the substitute goalkeeper at the

2012 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup The 2012 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup was the third edition of the women's football tournament, and was held in Azerbaijan from 22 September to 13 October, following a decision by the executive committee on 19 March 2010. Defending champions Sou ...

for the under-17 national team. She died attempting to cross the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

by boat to Italy in 2016.

Club career

Jawara played for Gambia's top women's football club, the Red Scorpions FC, based in Serekunda. She eventually became the first choice goalkeeper for the team.

International career

Jawara represented Gambia on the under-17 and senior national teams. She was called up to the

Gambia women's national under-17 football team Gambia women's national under-17 football team represents Gambia in international youth football competitions. FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup The team has qualified in 2012 African U-17 Cup of Nations for Women Previous squads :''2012 FIFA U ...

, making her debut in 2009 and went on to play at the

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

. She made her debut for the women's national football team in 2015, and saved a

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

in a friendly against Glasgow Girls F.C. from the

Scottish Women's Football League First Division The Scottish Women's Football League First Division (SWFL 1) was a division in the Women's football in Scotland, Scottish women's football pyramid between 1999 and 2019. The second league tier from 1999 to 2015, it was later the third tier from 20 ...

during the match.

Death

In February 2016, Jawara left her homeland

Serrekunda Serekunda (proper: Sayerr Kunda or Sere Kunda, ar, سيريكوندا, sometimes spelled Serrekunda) is the largest urban centre in The Gambia. It is situated close to the Atlantic coast, south-west of the capital, Banjul, and is formed of nine ...

in Gambia and crossed the Sahara Desert to

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

. Once in Libya, she contacted her family and informed them that she was travelling to Europe to seek a position playing for a major European club. At the end of October 2016, she attempted to smuggle herself into Europe by travelling with others on two boats across the

, heading towards the island of

Lampedusa Lampedusa ( , , ; scn, Lampidusa ; grc, Λοπαδοῦσσα and Λοπαδοῦσα and Λοπαδυῦσσα, Lopadoûssa; mt, Lampeduża) is the largest island of the Italian Pelagie Islands in the Mediterranean Sea. The ''comune'' of L ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. Due to a severe storm, their boats sank and Jawara drowned. She was 19 years old. Her absence was first noted when the national team was due to play Casa Sports F.C. from Senegal as part of a festival to celebrate women's football. Several days after the accident, her family was contacted by the agent to inform them that the boat had capsized, and she had drowned.

Reactions to her death

Lamin Kaba Bajo Lamin Kaba Bajo (born 10 November 1964) is a former Gambian politician and diplomat who is the current president of the Gambia Football Federation, having been elected in September 2014. A military officer who commanded the presidential guard ...

, President of the Gambia Football Federation, said that the federation was "grieving at the moment as this is a great loss to the national soccer team and the nation." Jawara's former teammate Adama Tamba said that learning about her death was "painful". Tamba stated that Jawara was "someone very close to er and that she was "always advising er especially in the tournament ..in Baku in 2012".

References

External links