ABSTRACT
The importance of nutrition is now widely recognised by professional soccer players, support staff, and coaches. In this chapter, the authors provide an overview of the scientific basis of performance nutrition in terms of the key macronutrient, micronutrient, and fluid requirements for professional players. In accordance with the role of muscle glycogen in promoting high-intensity intermittent exercise performance, the major goal of nutritional interventions in the day prior to the game should be to ensure sufficient pre-game muscle and liver glycogen stores. Based on different physical loads associated with training and match play, daily CHO and within-day CHO distribution patterns should differ accordingly. In addition to simply matching energy intake to energy demands, the rationale for practical application of CHO periodisation strategies has been developed on the premise that commencing and/or recovering from exercise with reduced CHO availability up-regulates cell signalling pathways that regulate oxidative adaptations of human skeletal muscle.
