Switzerland women's national team forward Florijana Ismaili has been confirmed dead, three days after going missing following a swimming accident at Lake Como in Italy, the Swiss FA has announced.
"The Swiss Football Association has the painful task of informing about the death of its national player Florijana Ismaili. We are all upset, deeply affected and very, very sad," read a statement on the Swiss FA's website, which added that Ismaili's body had been found on Tuesday.
https://t.co/cukZ8kwblX pic.twitter.com/wHPrxio5c0
— nationalteams_SFVASF (@SFV_ASF) July 2, 2019
Upon hearing the news, FIFA president Gianni Infantino, whose organisation is headquartered in Switzerland, expressed his condolences.
"This is an extremely sad moment for all the football community, particularly at a time when we gather at the FIFA Women's World Cup," Infantino said in a statement.
"Both on mine and FIFA's behalf, I would like to express the most heartfelt condolences to Florijana's family and friends, to the Swiss Federation and to BSC Young Boys."
Ismaili had been declared missing after a swimming accident at Lake Como, her club said on Sunday.
Ismaili, 24, had played for the BSC Young Boys women's team since 2011 and was the club's captain.