Pre-Season Nutrition Guide for Footballers

This guide shows you how powerful nutrition habits that actually make a difference.

Pre-season’s where the hard work happens, heavy legs, double sessions, and big shifts on the pitch. But if your nutrition doesn’t match your training, you’ll be stuck in second gear.

The truth? Most players don’t eat or drink enough to fuel what pre-season demands. That means less energy, slower recovery, higher injury risk, and missed gains. This guide shows you how to fix that, with simple, powerful nutrition habits that actually make a difference.

Why Nutrition Matters in Football Pre-Season

You train harder in pre-season than any other time of year. More volume. More intensity. Less time to recover.

If you’re not fuelling that load properly:

You’ll feel flat in sessions
Your body won’t adapt or grow
You’re more likely to get injured or sick

Think of food as your fuel and an important ally in your performance toolkit. Get it right, and you’ll recover faster, feel stronger, and hit the ground running when the season starts.

When Should Footballers Eat? Pre- and Post-Training Nutrition

Most players under-eat when it matters most, before and after training. Let’s fix that.

Before Training

You need carbs in the tank to perform. Think quick, familiar, digestible foods, 2-3 hours before training starts:

What to eat: Porridge + honey, toast + jam, banana, fruit smoothies, pancakes
How much: 1–2 g of carbs per kg bodyweight (for an 80 kg player: 80–160g)

After Training

Your muscles require fuel and hydration for recovery and adaptation, especially if you’ve got a second session or gym later.

What to eat: Recovery smoothie or milkshake + a recovery meal. Think: rice + chicken, pasta + tuna, noodles + salmon + juices or fruit smoothie + water. A fruit bowl with a yoghurt or rice pudding is always great for dessert.
How much: 1.5–2.0 g/kg carbs + 0.3–0.4 g/kg protein.

Tip: Breakfast and lunch are prime time. If you go light here, you’ll feel it later.

Tip: Don’t forget in-session fuelling. Anything >45 minutes should be supported by a quickly digestible carbohydrate option. Think: banana, gel, rice crispy square, etc.

Hydration Strategy for Football Pre-Season

Training in the heat? Doing doubles? You’re sweating buckets and you need to put it back.

Players in our research were using up to 5 litres of fluid a day. And most weren’t drinking enough to match that.

It is very common for football players to lose up to 1 liter of sweat per hour and even more in hot and humid conditions. Staying hydrated is key, and requires a consistent focus.

Here’s how to stay ahead:

Start hydrated – Pee should be pale yellow
Drink early – 500 ml with breakfast + pre-training
Top up during training – Sip 150–250 ml every 15–20 mins
Weigh yourself before and after – For every 1 kg you lose, drink 1.5 L after

Electrolytes matter, too, especially sodium. Add salt to meals or use an electrolyte tablet in your bottle to replace what you sweat out.

Tip: When testing elite football players, we often see sweat sodium losses of 1-3 g per hour so these salts need to be replaced to maximise recovery and your ability to work hard in subsequent sessions.

Macronutrient Needs: What Your Body Really Needs

Carbs = Fuel

You need a lot and most players aren’t getting enough.

Target: 4–8 g/kg per day (320–640g for an 80 kg player)
Think: Oats, rice, pasta, wraps, fruit, pancakes, cereal

Tip: When working with elite players, they often consume 2-4 g/kg of carbohydrate per day during the pre-season period. This is nowhere near enough to optimise performance, recovery and adaptation. Don’t forget to fuel the work.

Protein = Repair + Recovery + Adaption

Most pros nail this.

Target: 1.6–2.2 g/kg (130–175g per day)
Spread evenly across meals: aim for 30–40g each
Think: meats, fish, dairy (eggs, milk, yoghurt).

Fat = Energy + Hormone Support

Helpful, but too much can displace carbs.

Target: 20–30% of total calories (80–100g per day)
Think: Nuts, seeds, avocados, olive oil, meats, fish, dairy, butter
Tip: When eating low carb, most elite players by accident increase their fat intake = eating the same overall number of calories. It’s essential to have healthy fats in your diet, but avoid trans fats found in fast foods, take-aways, and pre-packed items (e.g., crisps, donuts, cakes).

Best Supplements for Football Pre-Season

Supplements won’t make up for a poor diet — but the right ones can boost recovery, performance, and resilience.

‍

‍

Use batch-tested products (Informed Sport, like Nutrition X) and avoid fat burners, testosterone boosters, or anything promising "shredded in 7 days"

Footballer Meal Plan: What to Eat on a Double Session Day

Here’s how a top performer might eat on a heavy double training day:

9:00am Breakfast (Pre-Session #1)

Pancakes + syrup + fruits + Greek yoghurt
Fruit smoothie or milkshake
Water + coffee
(~100g carbs, 30g protein)

11:30am In-Session (#1)

Banana or Lucozade sport + water

(~30 g carbs)

12:30pm Post-Session Recovery Drink (Post-Session #1)

Strawberry and banana milkshake with whey protein and honey
(~60g carbs, 30g protein)

13:30pm Lunch (Post-Session #1)

Chicken + rice + roasted veg – salts food for extra electrolytes
Freshly squeezed orange juice + water
(~100g carbs, 30g protein)

3:30pm Snack (Pre-Session #2)

Jam sandwich + water with electrolyte
(~60g carbs)

16:30am In-Session (#2)

Banana or Lucozade sport + water