Littlehampton care home residents team up with community for matchday magic

Football fever has officially kicked off at a care home in Littlehampton as residents welcomed the local community for a day of sporting fun. 

Care UK’s Darlington Court, on The Leas off Station Road in Rustington, teamed up with visitors to take part in a variety of football-themed activities and join the nation in celebrating the huge summer of sport. 

Families and team members took to the pitch in a friendly football match, with residents acting as coaches to try to lead their side to victory. Team Asia brought home the win, with Team Europe taking silver, followed by Team Ireland. 

Visitors were also treated to a delicious barbecue, specially made by the home’s head chef, while tapping along to live music from singer Tania Rodd, who performed top hits from across the decades. 

Resident Peter, said: “I enjoyed the day! Everything was great fun, the way it was organised lifted our spirits. The day brought many happy memories as an ex-chairman of the Worthing walking football club myself. I just want to say a massive thank you to all the staff, especially the lifestyle team, for putting on such an exciting event.”

The event was part of Care UK’s ‘Goal-den Moments' initiative, which aims to bring generations together and encourage residents to reminisce about cherished football memories with the local community while sharing new experiences.

Costin Matei, Home Manager at Darlington Court, said: “We had a ball opening our doors to the community to join in our football match and barbecue!

“For many residents, football is more than just the beautiful game – it represents a lifetime of treasured memories and traditions. This event allowed us to honour these special moments and bring them to life once again.

“It was a wonderful opportunity to bring the local community together for a day of matchday magic. It was truly heartwarming to watch residents reminisce and share their favourite football stories from years gone by.

“We’d like to extend a huge thank you to the community for joining us and making this a day to remember. With spirits high, everyone involved proved they still have plenty of goal-den skills to show off!”

For more information about Goal-den Moments, please visit careuk.com/goal-den-moments.

Darlington Court has been designed to deliver the very best standards of care and enable residents to lead active and fulfilling lives. The home provides full-time residential, nursing and dementia care, as well as short-term respite care.