The nutritional preparation for a match starts a long time before the morning of kick off.  A number of factors including, amongst others; the time and location of the match, the expected weather conditions, the time since the last match, players individual preferences and the travelling arrangements of the team, can all interact with nutritional planning.

Upto 48 hours before kick off

The goal of the days before the match are to maintain hydration levels (by optimising hydration strategies and avoiding excess alcohol consumption) and to build the body's carbohydrate stores. Due to the physical and psychological changes that occur during a match, it is important to ensure that players also rest and get enough sleep in this period. 

Match day

Depending upon the time of kick-off, it is possible that breakfast may be the final pre-match meal before the game starts; which itself can cause problems if players are not early risers. A number of important factors must be borne in mind when planning the pre-match meal or indeed any nutrition on the day of the match.  Scientific research has found that variations in the amount, type and timing of carbohydrates in the pre-match period can dramatically affect performance.  Interestingly, research has identified that consuming carbohydrates too close to the onset of exercise can actually impair performance by reducing the time to fatigue.  The culmination of all these factors mean that it is vitally important that teams seek and implement specialist nutritional advice when preparing for, playing in and recovering from a match.

During the game

Providing that the pre-match preperations have been adequate, the goal of nutritional interventions during the match is to top-up the blood's glucose levels (which help to prevent glycogen depletion and prolong exercise capacity) whilst simultaneously addressing the issue of hydration.  Again, the results of scientific research have led to specific supplementation protocols that enable blood glucose concentrations to be maintained over prolonged periods of a match when compared to participants who have not observed these guidelines.

Recovery

Football is one sport where the recovery from exercise is increasingly important due to the volume of games played in a season. Please visit the training and recovery and supplementation sections of this website for more information.

Click here to see a case study of hydro-nutritional practices of junior players.

Here at scientific-football.com we vary specific nutritional strategies according to the stage of the playing week (i.e., 48 hours before the match, the day of the match, during the match and following the match).  By harnessing the knowledge from a number of scientific research studies, we are able to advise individual players or teams as a whole on specific strategies that could be the key to unlocking your performance potential. For more information contact us using the email address provided.