Football nutrition: what to eat before, during and after a match

What should you eat before a football match?

Your pre-match meal should help you start with full muscle and liver glycogen stores, without feeling weighed down. For football, the UEFA consensus suggests 1 to 3 g of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight three to four hours before kick-off [2]. For sport more generally, the range is 1 to 4 g per kilogram one to four hours beforehand [1]. For a 70 kg player, that is 70 to 210 g of carbohydrate. A practical meal could be rice or pasta with chicken breast, white bread and a ripe banana.

Keep that meal low in fat and fibre [1] and easy to digest, so reflux or stomach discomfort does not trouble you on the pitch [2]. Save fried foods, rich sauces, whole legumes and large salads for another day. One rule for team sport: never try a new food, gel or drink on match day. Test everything in training first.

What should you have for breakfast before a morning match?

Youth football and many weekend leagues play in the late morning. With two or three hours to spare, breakfast becomes your pre-match meal. Try white toast with turkey, fresh cheese or jam and a glass of milk. Fine oats cooked with milk and ripe fruit also work.

If you have only an hour, cut back on solid food. A glass of milk with cocoa and a ripe banana can provide energy without weighing on your stomach. Avoid playing on an empty stomach. Overnight, liver glycogen stores may fall by nearly half [2]. For a morning match, breakfast matters most.

What should you drink and have at half-time?

You lose water and salts through sweat. The aim is to avoid losing more than 2% of your body weight during exercise [1]. Drinking around 0.4 to 0.8 litres per hour is often enough, depending on how much you sweat [1].

For energy, the UEFA consensus suggests 30 to 60 g of carbohydrate after the warm-up and again at half-time [2]. During the fifteen minutes in the changing room, a drink containing sugar and sodium, a gel with water or half a banana may be practical. Beware of the opposite extreme: drinking far more than you sweat can dilute blood sodium and cause hyponatraemia [1]. The goal is to replace what you lose. In hot weather, or if you sweat heavily, a drink with sodium helps replace salts.

What should you eat after a match to recover faster?

After the final whistle, you need to restore energy, repair muscle and replace fluids. If you have a weekend tournament or less than eight hours until your next match, replenish carbohydrate promptly. The recommendation is 1 to 1.2 g per kilogram per hour for the first four hours [1]. If your next match is several days away, carbohydrate-rich meals over the following hours are enough.

For muscle repair, have 20 to 40 g of quality protein per serving, around 0.25 g per kilogram [3]. During recovery, repeat those servings every three or four hours, with 20 to 25 g each time [2]. For fluids, drink 1.25 to 1.5 litres for every kilogram of body weight lost [1]. A turkey or tuna sandwich and a milk and banana smoothie in the changing room can cover all three needs.

How much should a football player eat during the week?

Your eating plan changes with your training schedule. With a light load, the guidance is 3 to 5 g of carbohydrate per kilogram per day; with a moderate load, 5 to 7 g; with intense training, 6 to 10 g; and with very high loads, up to 8 to 12 g [1]. For football, the UEFA consensus gives a range of 3 to 8 g per kilogram per day, depending on the week [2]. This rises to 6–8 g the day before, the day of and the day after a match [2]. For a 75 kg player, the overall range is about 225 to 600 g of carbohydrate a day.

For protein, guidelines put daily intake at 1.2 to 2.0 g per kilogram [1] or 1.4 to 2.0 g [3]. For football players, the range rises to 1.6–2.2 g per kilogram per day [2]. Spread it across 20 to 40 g servings every three or four hours [3]. For players under 18, protein needs are met through food [2].

Do not cut fat too far, either. It should provide 20 to 35% of total energy [1] [2]. Below 20%, you may miss out on foods containing valuable nutrients, including fat-soluble vitamins [1]. In practice, use olive oil for cooking and dressing, eat oily fish and have a handful of nuts. If you need to adjust body fat during pre-season, use a moderate energy deficit while maintaining protein intake and strength training.

Do you need supplements to play football?

In professional and amateur football alike, supplements are often advertised with promises they cannot fulfil. Food comes first; supplements may have a place afterwards if needed [2]. Everyday food provides the energy and nutrients that performance demands.

Creatine monohydrate has evidence supporting its use for high-intensity performance, according to the International Olympic Committee [4]. If you need a supplement, your doctor or registered dietitian-nutritionist decides which one after reviewing your diet. Commercial supplements may also be contaminated with undeclared substances that can lead to a positive anti-doping test [4]. Players under 18 should not take sports supplements [2].

Why every player on the team eats differently

Demands vary with your position and the minutes you play. Daily training load depends, among other things, on your position and whether you start [2]. A goalkeeper expends around 600 kcal per day less than an outfield player [2]. Elite women players cover a similar total distance to men [2].

That is why energy and carbohydrate needs differ within the same squad. Giving everyone the same restrictive plan to reach an arbitrary body-fat percentage raises the risk of fatigue and injury. Consistently eating less than you expend can lead to relative energy deficiency in sport (REDs). The International Olympic Committee warns that it can disrupt hormones and menstruation, reduce bone mass, cause stress fractures and impair performance [5].

For the fundamentals, see our sports nutrition guide. If you play another team sport, see our basketball nutrition guide.

What mistakes do we see in consultations?

Three mistakes recur among football players of all ages, from youth teams to veterans.

• Drinking everything at once just before the warm-up. Spread fluids over the hours beforehand; an excess will simply send you to the toilet in the changing room.
• Eating without checking the time. A large meal an hour before kick-off can feel heavy on the pitch, while eating nothing after breakfast before an afternoon match can leave your energy stores half full.
• Cutting carbohydrates all week to “get lean”. You arrive at the match short of fuel and, if you keep doing it, may develop the energy deficiency described above.

All three can be addressed with a little planning, and you will often feel the difference in the second half.