Two of women's football's biggest names are spending part of their Christmas break on a Maldivian island — and resort guests get to join in. England international Lucy Bronze MBE, a five-time UEFA Women's Champions League winner, and Spanish star Ona Batlle will be at Kandima Maldives between Christmas and New Year, running family-friendly beach games and a festive penalty shootout during a rare pause in the WSL season ahead of the 2027 Women's World Cup.

They're part of a packed festive programme on the three-kilometre island, which runs from 20 December 2026 to 7 January 2027 and splits into two chapters. Christmas in Paradise (20–25 December) covers the traditional stuff — tree lighting, Santa arriving on the beach, gala dinner, Christmas Day brunch and an annual Christmas Day Run — with family workshops and scavenger hunts at the kids' Kandiland club.

Then Showtime Fairground takes over from Boxing Day to New Year's Eve, with beach Olympics, e-go-kart racing, a fun run, a mini-island tri-challenge and watersports. There's an adults-only White Party at Forbidden Bar, bowling, arcade games and escape rooms at PlaySpace, and a New Year finale with fireworks on Smoked Beach and live performances. Sport runs through the whole period: viral British football family The Wingroves host a big family adventure game on 15 December, and former pro tennis player Dustin Brown leads daily clinics and his own Festive Cup from 17–27 December. DJ Giulia Siegel handles the sundowners, chef Ludwig Heer the food, and magician Mr Marvel pops up 23–26 December.

There's a local element too, via Kandima's KULA Art Festival — Maldivian artists and craftspeople showing everything from henna and spray paint to digital and coffee art, plus street food and artisan markets. The KULA initiative runs a non-profit fund for local creatives and recently staged a UNDP-backed Art for Biodiversity exhibition on the island.

It's a well-timed pitch. Thomas Cook reported a 20% year-on-year jump in overseas festive holidays last season among British and Irish travellers, and Kandima is leaning into the swap-the-cold-for-sun market with an active, family-first take on a tropical Christmas. Prices start at £360 per villa per night, B&B for two adults, before discounts — and there's up to 45% off direct rates for stays between 24 December and 10 January, booked via kandima.com.

For football-mad families, the chance to trade penalty-shootout tips with a Champions League winner on a Maldivian beach is a genuinely unusual draw. For everyone else, it's a festive resort calendar heavy on sport, music and things to do — the opposite of lying by a pool for two weeks, if that's not your thing.