Research
Energy balance
Dehydration of 2% body weight loss impairs football performance, and players should aim to prevent this loss by consuming 5-7ml/kg of fluid 2-4 hours before the match.
To avoid performance drops, do not lose more than 2% of your body weight through sweat. Start hydrating 2-4 hours before kickoff by drinking 5-7ml of water for every kg of your body weight. Check your urine color; it should be light yellow. If it's dark, drink more.
ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
it is assumed that the level needed to induce performance is about 2% of body weight loss... The goal of hydration before, during, and after exercise is to prevent loss of <2% of body weight
Why this rating
Based on general sports science consensus cited in the review.
Source
Nutrition and supplementation in football - practical guidelines based on current literature review
Wiktoria Staśkiewicz‐Bartecka · Journal of Education Health and Sport · 2022
DOI 10.12775/jehs.2022.12.10.012
narrative_reviewCited 2×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Elite football players should consume 6-8g of carbohydrates per kg of body weight on match days and 48-72 hours between matches to maximize muscle and liver glycogen stores and prevent performance-depleting fatigue.Moderate
- Post-match carbohydrate intake of ~1g/kg body weight per hour for 4 hours is required to maximize glycogen resynthesis and recovery speed.Moderate
- Daily protein intake of 1.6-2.2g/kg body weight, distributed across 3-4 meals of ~0.4g/kg, optimizes muscle protein synthesis and training adaptation in football players.Moderate
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