Care Home Open Week 2026: Kicking off the World Cup Theme
Care Home Open Week’s 2026 theme is the 2026 FIFA World Cup. In this blog post, we’ve gathered a selection of World Cup-themed activities that you, your care home, or your local community can partake in.
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As this year’s Care Home Open Week (CHOW) 2026 event launches on 15 June, the initiative coincides with the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup which kicks off in Mexico on 11 June. Therefore, it feels very appropriate that Championing Social Care – the organiser of CHOW - has chosen this year’s event theme as the World Cup, which will no doubt be a fun and unifying dual celebration for residents and local communities alike.
“Just like football, great care is all about teamwork, community and heart,” says Mitesh Dhanak, board member of Championing Social Care and chair of the Care Home Open Week committee.
Over 5,500 care services joined Care Home Open Week last year, opening their doors to the local community and highlighting the vital role each home plays. We’re hoping to make the event even bigger this year, with more and more homes signing up throughout the country and getting involved in fun activities. This year, NAPA (The National Activity Providers Association) has produced a brand-new football-themed activity pack to help get residents and the community alike involved with the event.
Below are a few of their ideas to get you started...
World Cup-themed activities:
- Walking football: A low-impact version of football where players must walk to score a goal
- Blow football (using straws): A tabletop game where players use straws to blow a small ball into their opponent’s goal
- Table‑top football tournaments: a multigenerational game played on a foosball/table football game
- Running intergenerational sessions by inviting local schools, youth groups or Scout packs to join residents for a tabletop game or some crafting fun making flag bunting
- Hosting a mini football tournament featuring quizzes, friendly challenges, and memory‑sharing about past World Cups and residents’ sporting heroes
- Contributing to the “Memories of 1966” initiative, as Championing Social Care collects residents’ stories of England’s historic World Cup triumph
- Setting up a care home sweepstake where residents can predict match results
- World Cup watch parties – you can find the full television schedule here
To access the full NAPA activity pack, register for CHOW here: https://www.championingsocialcare.org.uk/care-home-open-week/register/