Avani+ Fares Maldives Resort has announced the return of former England striker and Ballon d’Or winner Michael Owen for a third Kids’ Football Camp, scheduled from 14 to 17 October 2026.

The four-day programme will be open to children aged five to 13 of all skill levels, with sessions combining football coaching, skills drills and games alongside beach activities and island experiences. The camp will conclude with a Grand Finale on 17 October, when participating children will receive medals and certificates.

Participation in the camp will be complimentary for guests staying at Avani+ Fares Maldives during the event period.

The October programme will mark Owen’s third football camp at the Baa Atoll resort and his second visit to the property this year, following an Easter edition held in late March and early April. The resort first introduced the programme in October 2025.

The inaugural camp ran from 20 to 23 October 2025, followed by a Grand Finale on 24 October. Owen led coaching sessions on the resort’s football pitch, with the programme designed to give young guests opportunities to learn from the former England international while focusing on football skills, teamwork and participation. The first edition was complimentary for eligible children staying at the resort.

Following the response to the first camp, Avani+ Fares brought Owen back for its Easter programme in 2026. More than 30 children and teenagers participated in the second edition, taking part in daily sessions led by Owen and assistant coaches. Training covered areas including dribbling, passing, positioning and teamwork, with sessions adapted for different ages and ability levels.

The second camp also formed part of a wider programme for families, incorporating activities for children and teenagers beyond the football pitch. Participants concluded the programme with certificates and medals, while opportunities were also provided for meet-and-greet sessions, autograph signings and photographs with Owen.

Owen won the Ballon d’Or in 2001 and represented England during an international career that included appearances at three FIFA World Cups. At club level, he played for Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle United, Manchester United and Stoke City. His involvement in the Avani+ Fares programme has been centred on introducing younger players to football through training and activities within a resort holiday setting.

The third edition will retain the programme’s focus on children aged five to 13, combining coaching with recreational activities during the October school holiday period. According to the resort’s announcement, the camp will include expert coaching, drills for different skill levels, beach games and island adventures before the final session and awards ceremony on 17 October.

Avani+ Fares Maldives Resort is located on Fares Island in Baa Atoll, within the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and close to Hanifaru Bay. The property offers 176 rooms, pavilions, beach and overwater villas and residences, together with seven dining and bar venues. Its family facilities include AvaniKids, a Teens Club and Petit Bistro, a restaurant dedicated to younger guests.

The resort also provides access to snorkelling and diving on its house reef, alongside water sports, tennis, fitness and spa facilities. Avani+ Fares was named Best Beach Resort at the Travel Trade Maldives Awards 2025, following its Best Dive Resort recognition in 2024.

The return of Owen for a third camp continues Avani+ Fares Maldives’ use of sports-led programmes as part of its family offering, bringing the former England striker back to Fares Island less than seven months after his previous camp.

Grand Park Kodhipparu, Maldives is celebrating three nominations in the 2026 World Luxury Awards, with recognition spanning the resort, its overwater spa and signature restaurant FireDoor.

The nominations see Grand Park Kodhipparu highlighted across three complementary boutique luxury categories:

• Luxury Boutique Resort–Grand Park Kodhipparu Maldives
• Luxury Boutique Spa–The Spa at Grand Park Kodhipparu Maldives
• Luxury Boutique Resort Restaurant–FireDoor

Together, the three nominations recognise the breadth of the Grand Park Kodhipparu experience at a time when the resort continues to strengthen its position within the highly competitive Maldives luxury landscape.

Just 20 minutes by speedboat from Velana International Airport, Grand Park Kodhipparu has evolved its approach to luxury around the idea that a memorable island stay is defined not simply by the villa or physical product, but by the connections guests make with themselves, each other, nature and the destination.

This philosophy is expressed through the resort’s Connected Island Luxury positioning: a contemporary interpretation of boutique luxury centred on personalised hospitality, wellbeing, nature, dining and meaningful experiences.

A Boutique Approach to Maldivian Luxury

With 120 villas on an intimate private island in North Malé Atoll, Grand Park Kodhipparu combines accessibility with a strong sense of escape. Its large collection of overwater villas is complemented by an exceptional house reef accessible close to shore, an overwater spa, three distinctive dining venues and a range of ocean, wellness and lifestyle experiences.

Rather than competing through scale or formality, the resort has increasingly focused on what boutique luxury can offer today’s traveller: individuality, personalisation, a distinctive sense of place and experiences that feel connected rather than prescribed.

The three World Luxury Awards nominations reflect that approach across three important dimensions of the guest journey.

Luxury Boutique Resort: Grand Park Kodhipparu Maldives

The nomination for Luxury Boutique Resort recognises the overall Grand Park Kodhipparu experience. From sunrise-facing water villas and the surrounding lagoon to personalised service and easy access to the house reef, the island offers guests the freedom to shape their stay around their own pace and priorities.

The resort’s evolving experience-led philosophy brings together wellbeing, dining, ocean experiences and social moments rather than treating them as separate elements of a holiday–creating a more personal expression of Maldivian luxury.

Luxury Boutique Spa: The Spa at Grand Park Kodhipparu

Suspended above the Indian Ocean, The Spa at Grand Park Kodhipparu Maldives has established itself as an important part of the island’s wellness identity.

Its treatment offering spans signature therapies, body and facial skincare, traditional and Balinese treatments and wellness experiences, supported by internationally recognised skincare brands and the natural restorative qualities of its overwater setting.

Increasingly, the resort is moving beyond the traditional concept of a spa treatment towards purpose-led wellbeing–connecting spa experiences with yoga, sleep, renewal, nature and the wider rhythm of an island stay.

Luxury Boutique Resort Restaurant: FireDoor

The resort’s signature overwater restaurant FireDoor has been nominated for Luxury Boutique Resort Restaurant, recognising a dining experience designed to be as memorable as its setting.

Positioned above the lagoon, FireDoor combines an open show kitchen, Josper charcoal grill, extensive wine and beverage offering and dramatic sunset setting. Its distinctive glass-floor feature further connects the restaurant with the ocean environment beneath it.

The restaurant is increasingly positioned not simply as a fine-dining outlet, but as one of the island’s signature experiences–bringing together culinary craftsmanship, atmosphere, provenance and a sense of occasion.

Three Nominations, One Island Experience

The simultaneous recognition of the resort, Spa and FireDoor is particularly significant for Grand Park Kodhipparu because it reflects the interconnected nature of the guest experience the resort has been developing.

Rather than viewing accommodation, wellness and dining as individual products, Grand Park Kodhipparu brings them together as different expressions of the same boutique luxury philosophy.

Liz Smailes, Director of Marketing at Grand Park Kodhipparu Maldives, said: “Luxury in the Maldives is an extraordinarily competitive space, so to be recognised across the resort, Spa and FireDoor at the same time is particularly meaningful for us. This evolution as a boutique luxury resort has been about looking beyond traditional ideas of luxury and focusing instead on what makes Kodhipparu distinctive–our intimate island environment, the incredible natural world around us, meaningful experiences and the personal connections our team creates with our guests.

“These three nominations tell that story beautifully. They recognise three very different parts of the resort, but ultimately they are all part of one connected island experience.”

Voting is now open across all three World Luxury Awards categories from the below links: 

• Grand Park Kodhipparu Maldives–Luxury Boutique Resort
• The Spa at Grand Park Kodhipparu Maldives–Luxury Boutique Spa
• FireDoor–Luxury Boutique Resort Restaurant

Nova Maldives will welcome the festive season with The Garden Within, a thoughtfully curated programme taking place from 19 December 2026 to 7 January 2027.

Inspired by Nova’s enduring spirit of connection, the festive programme brings together meaningful celebrations, restorative wellbeing, creative expression and shared experiences designed to feel warm, effortless and good for the soul, each one threaded with presence and the pleasure of feeling completely at home. From barefoot days and unhurried moments to joyful gatherings, the programme invites guests to reconnect with themselves, with others and with the natural beauty of island life.

Island Festivities at Twilight

The Magic of Christmas brings the island’s community together beneath twinkling lights for the Christmas Tree Lighting and Santa Claus’ arrival, setting the tone for a season of celebration.On Christmas Day, the celebrations continue with the storytelling, music and craft of the Grand Holhuashi, a tradition dating back to the seafaring villages of old Maldives, when communities gathered at day’s end to mark the moment together. As the year draws to a close, cocktail parties and gala dinners carry guests into New Year’s Eve, culminating in a spectacular firework display at midnight to welcome in the new year.

Throughout the season, live performances from resident bands Supremacy and The Kabans, fire shows on the beach, tiki nights at Wink, and an intimate Shisha & Cigar Lounge keep the island’s evenings alive with rhythm.

Wellness Inspired by the Cosmos

To tend to what’s within, EsKape Spa will welcome guests with limited-time rituals that encourage wellbeing during the festive season, including Reikilogy, blending Reiki with foot reflexology, and Abhyanga, a traditional Ayurvedic warm oil massage making use of rhythmic movements to bring about relaxation.

Beneath a canopy of stars, a quieter sensual invitation unfolds at the Soma Nāda Sound Journey, where soothing vibrations draw guests inward to sit with stillness and reflection beneath the Cold Moon of Christmas Eve. Visitors can also craft their own herbal potli in the Arogya Potli Workshop, held on Sunday mornings throughout the period, gathering fragrant herbs and spices into a small hand-tied pouch to bring a piece of Nova’s garden home.

Harvest from the Sea

Every evening, the treasures of the ocean garden make their way onto the table. In the day, leisurely Dim Sum & Sushi light bites keep peckishness at bay, while aspiring cooks at Soul Kitchen can trade recipes for hands-on secrets in the Truly Maldivian Flavours workshop. By night, diners can choose between two special menus at Mizu, Nova’s overwater restaurant: the Japanese feast Nova Sora Umi: Blooming Ocean, inspired by the collision of sky and sea (offered daily); and the six-course Umi no Sachi: Bountiful Harvest of the Sea, which lays out the ocean’s finest, course by course (offered on Christmas and New Year’s Eve).

Beyond the table, couples can opt for a beachside feast of grilled lobster and sparkling wine beneath the stars at a more private corner, or sail out to a sandbank to enjoy Prosecco and canapés on a Castaway experience, far from any menu, where candlelight, the tide and each other’s company are all that’s on offer.

Explore the Underwater Garden

For ocean-lovers, Whale Shark Snorkelling and Manta Quest outings offer front-row seats to South Ari Atoll’s gentle giants and manta ray’s silent ballet, while beginner-friendly scuba tours welcome first-timers into the deep. To encourage travellers to give back to the ocean, guests can participate in reef clean-ups, and become a patron in the resort’s Coral Garden Sponsorship, where they’ll be able to plant a coral frame of their own under Nova’s marine team’s guidance.

“The Garden Within reflects something Nova has always stood for – meaningful connection that honours presence and wellbeing,” says Abdulla Aboobakuru, General Manager of Nova Maldives. “Festive season here is a planting season. Through moments spent moving, resting and creating together, we hope every guests leave feeling they have grown closer to themselves, their loved ones, and the world around them, returning home with space within them for something new to grow.”

Travellers can let their soul take root at Nova this festive season, with villas sleeping up to three people from £457 per night on Full Board when booked direct at www.nova-maldives.com.