Nutrition advice for Football Players

While the average distance covered by a top-class outfield player during a 90-minute match is over 10,000m, at an average speed of over 7km per hour, these figures do not accurately represent the full demands placed on a player. In addition to running, a player must jump, change direction, tackle, accelerate and decelerate, etc., and each of these individual tasks requires an energy input over and above that required simply to cover a similar distance at a constant speed. Scientific investigation has shown that the true demands on a player can be approximated at roughly 70%VO2max. This is based on evidence of heart rate, sweat loss, increase in body temperature, and depletion of carbohydrate stores within the muscles (intramuscular glycogen).

Nutrition

Every club expects the players to train, but it hardly seems worthwhile insisting on this if the opportunities offered by good nutrition are neglected. One of the key areas where nutrition can have a direct impact on performance is in the area of hydration. There is good evidence that players who become dehydrated are more susceptible to the negative effects of fatigue, including loss of performance and increased risk of injury. There is also growing evidence that excessive sweat losses, especially high salt losses, can be a factor in some of the muscle cramps that affect players in training and competition.

Recently, however, a number of clubs have recognised that hydration is important and that no single strategy suits all players in all environments. This has led to an assessment of individual needs so that a personal drinking strategy can be put in place. This practice appears to have gained ground in American football, where pre-season training typically takes place in extreme heat and involves two sessions per day. In recent years, a number of high-profile fatalities, including that of Korey Stringer in the NFL, have raised the awareness of what can happen when things go seriously wrong. Several of the top English football clubs now have monitoring strategies in place.