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 lea ...

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 east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

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 Serekunda (or Serrekunda; ) is a major city and the largest metropolitan area in The Gambia. It is situated close to the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast, on the Gambia River, near the capital, Banjul. Serekunda and Banjul form an urban area kno ...

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

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

. 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 during the match.

Death

In February 2016, Jawara left her homeland

Serrekunda Serekunda (or Serrekunda; ) is a major city and the largest metropolitan area in The Gambia. It is situated close to the Atlantic coast, on the Gambia River, near the capital, Banjul. Serekunda and Banjul form an urban area known as the Kombos ...

in Gambia and crossed the

Sahara Desert The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

. 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 ( , , ; ; ) is the largest island of the Italian Pelagie Islands in the Mediterranean Sea. The ''comune'' of Lampedusa e Linosa is part of the Sicilian province of Agrigento which also includes the smaller islands of Linosa and Lamp ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. 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

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 The Gambia Football Federation (GFF), formerly known as the Gambia Football Association, is the governing body of football in Gambia. It was founded in 1952, and affiliated to FIFA in 1968 and to CAF in 1966. It organizes the GFA League First D ...

, 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 Adama Tamba (born 29 August 1998) is a Gambian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Seconde Ligue club Rodez and the Gambia national team. Early life Adama and her sister were born in Banjul, and grew up at the SOS Children' ...

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