THE DIET OF A PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL PLAYER

EAT GOOD, PLAY GOOD 

Professional football is now a game full of highly tuned athletes. The game itself is played at a much faster and dynamic pace than ever before. Professional players now abide by a strict diet and exercise plan. Pro players are athletes in every sense of the word. They train daily and have clean and balanced diets. Like all of us the basics are obvious, stay away from junk food and fatty foods. The diet of a professional footballer needs a perfect balance of proteins, vegetables and carbs. At the professional level of football, diet really is as important as physical training.  So what are players eating and why?

RESILIENCE

It is very important to stay healthy and have your immune system running at a high level to protect from illness. Keep you energy up by consuming vitamins, good fiber and minerals. If you are eating the right foods supplements should not be required. Basically you need to eat lots of fruits and vegetables.

VITAMIN A – Dried apricots, carrots, sweet potatoes

VITAMIN C – Spinach, peppers, oranges, kiwis, leafy greens.

STAMINA
It’s very important for pro players to be able to play at a high tempo for 90 minutes at least. For this slow release energy players must eat foods containing high carbohydrates. For best results wholegrain types of carbohydrate are advised. So what do pros eat for stamina?

CARBOHYDRATE – Potato, cereals, pasta, oats, rice, beans.

CONCENTRATION

Football is as much a game of the mind as the body. It is very important to eat the right foods to keep your mind in the game. Foods that contain the right fats and oils are very good for concentration and memory. The brain itself is over 50% fat, so there for fatty acids are essential to run at optimum level.

FATS AND OILS – Avocado, oily fish (salmon, sardines, mackerel) seeds, nuts, peanut butter.

STRENGTH 

It is very important to have a physical presence in today’s pro game. For muscle growth and repair high protein foods are very important. We should all be eating high protein foods at regular meal intervals but pro players must up the amount to align with training sessions and matches. It is also very important to consume high calcium foods to help strengthen bones.

PROTEINS AND HIGH CALCIUM – Chicken, tuna, eggs, fish, beans, tofu/ low-fat dairy, yogurt, cheese, cereals.