Faten Ben Amar El Azizi, a 20-year-old player for Maghreb Atlético Tetuán, drowned while attempting to swim to Ceuta, her family said, adding that her Schengen visa had been approved the same day she died.
Her death brings the toll to at least 67 migrants killed in the crossing in recent days, according to Spain's Interior Ministry, amid an unprecedented crisis that pushed some 60,000 people toward the border. Hundreds gathered to mourn the young athlete, whose club lamented the heavy price paid by youth pursuing irregular migration.
Mustapha El Hadaoui, president of the Moroccan Union of Professional Footballers, paid tribute to El Azizi and extended condolences to her family and the Moroccan football community. Her death follows a surge of more than 1,500 arrivals into Ceuta over the past week that overwhelmed the enclave's reception facilities.