How different is the diet of a young footballer from that of a senior?
There is not much difference. Young players require a good balanced diet in order to stay healthy, grow, train hard and play better. It is essential for developing players to eat a wide variety of food so that they get the benefits of different nutrients from all food types—that is carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins and minerals.
How important is it for a young footballer to maintain a diet?
Football is a high-intensity, intermittent team sport with high energy demands. It is very important to fuel up for these demands, [not only] to maintain good performances during training and games, but also to recover from these activities. It is also very important for players to watch what they eat when not training to maintain good body composition. Poor body composition can massively affect performance and chances of succeeding as a professional footballer. Therefore, a periodised approach around food types and quantities is vital.
Has maintaining a strict diet helped the England team in preparing for this World Cup?
Due to the high demands of playing tournament football, we have periodised nutrition around training and games, working with the team chef. Around the games, we have given the players a high carbohydrate diet to help prepare players to perform and to recover across seven games in 21 days. Alongside food, we have also prescribed micronutrients and supplements to help aid recovery and keep players healthy during the tournament.
What is a typical English footballer’s diet?
Balanced diet consists of carbohydrates (pasta), proteins (white meat), vitamins and minerals. Good examples of these would be baked potatoes with tuna and beans or salmon and rice with fresh vegetables and potatoes.
Do youngsters find it difficult to follow a diet?
Youngsters do struggle at times to follow a well-balanced diet—at the end of the day they are still kids. The key to overcome this is the education of players around its importance in helping them evolve and develop into a senior player.
