Nutrition – Eat Right

What a player consumes before, during and after football matches plays a key role in their performance and development as a player. Proper nutrition is extremely important for football players.

A player who practices without having eaten breakfast or lunch, or avoids fluid intake during hot summer sessions is not going to reach his full potential – this ultimately affects the performance of the team as a whole and damages the player’s chances of succeeding as a footballer.

Because football requires short bursts of energy for intermittent sprinting coupled with rest in between, eating enough carbohydrates is critical. The ideal football players’ diet includes a daily caloric intake of 55 to 60% coming from carbohydrates, 15% from protein and 25% from fat. Simply said, your diet should be 2/3 carbohydrates and 1/3 protein, with an emphasis on moderate fat.

With the above statistics in mind, carbohydrate-containing foods with moderate fat should be given precedence: bagels over doughnuts, mashed potatoes over fries, grilled chicken over fried, frozen yogurt over ice cream etc. An increase in carbohydrate intake will provide you with more available energy during training and games.

After training days and in preseason as well as after games, your main source of energy should be carbohydrates. You will not recover in time for the next game unless your carb intake is sufficient enough. While you are at it, watch your protein intake. Even though footballers require proteins to grow and maintain their muscle mass, too much protein can be detrimental to your physique as the body converts excess protein into fat. Suggestions for good post-game/post-training food include peanut butter crackers, trail mix, yogurt with cereal, a bagel with cream cheese or peanut butter. This snack should be consumed within 30 minutes after competition/practice for optimal results.

Pre game meals:

The primary goal for a pre-game meal is to fuel the body for competition.You should choose low-fat foods as fats take longer to digest and high-fat meals can leave you with a full, heavy stomach and not enough energy to perform at your best. When planning a pre-game meal early in the day try to avoid foods such as, fried meats, fried potatoes, bacon, and sausage. Instead, choose foods that favor leaner protein and carbohydrates such as bread, cereal, and toast. For afternoon and evening games go with grilled, baked, or broiled meats, tomato instead of cream sauce, low-fat milk, and baked or broiled, instead of fried, potatoes.

Additional pre-game meal choices include:

• Turkey or ham subs, fruit salad, frozen yogurt

• Eggs, waffles, ham, fruit

• Pasta with red meat sauce, grilled chicken, salad and fruit

• Smoothie, cereal, fruit

• 8-ounce cuts of steak with carbohydrates on the side.

• For beverages: sports drinks, juices, and water.

Post game meals:

Try and replenish your fluids and carbohydrates immediately after a game – sports drinks, pretzels, sports bars (containing the proper nutritional ratio), or fruit will do the trick.

Once you sit down for a proper post game meal here are some meal options you can choose:

• Steak, kebab, rice

• Salmon, green beans, corn

• Roast beef, mashed potatoes, salad

• Hamburgers, grilled chicken sandwiches, baked potato and juice

You, as an athlete, are responsible for taking control of your nutrition. You must provide your body with optimal body fueling in order to perform at your best and give yourself the best chance of success in this sport.