Your parents are right; breakfast is the most important meal of the day. If you’re going to run around a football pitch, you need a good supply of quality carbohydrates, protein and vitamins and minerals in your system. Check out our comprehensive list of nutritious breakfasts so you can start the day on the right foot.
Breakfast
1 Make breakfast more exciting
3 How to make a healthy full English breakfast
4 What do professional footballers eat for breakfast?
5 Jermaine Jenas’ perfect breakfast
6 7 best breakfasts for footballers
7 How many carbohydrates should you eat?
Lunch
Footballers have top chefs to make their meals for them and while we can’t cook your food for you, we can give you a host of recipes recommended by nutritionists working for top clubs. Below you’ll find quick, easy dishes you can serve up at home or put in your lunchbox.
1 7 healthy lunches for footballers
Dinner
We don’t all feel like cooking after a hard day at work or school, but if you’ve got training or five-a-side at night, your performance will suffer if you don’t eat the right food. Don’t worry; we’ve done the hard work for you – here’s some delicious dinners that will ensure you cover every blade of grass.
1 How to make a healthy roast dinner
2 7 high-protein dinner recipes for football
3 Foods that help you get to sleep
4 The recipe for match fitness
5 5 foods to boost your performance
Pre-match
If your idea of a pre-match meal is the remainder of a Saturday night kebab, then you need to take a long hard look at our selection of nutritious pre-game meals. Pick one of them to eat three-and-a-half hours before kick off and you’ll be ready to hare round the pitch like a Duracell bunny.
1 Liverpool’s guide to pre-match meals
4 Essential food for a Sunday League star
6 Eat like an athlete: Ultimate matchday nutrition
7 7 high-protein dinner recipes for football
Snacks
That pack of chocolate digestives being handed around the office may look tempting, but there are tasty, healthy alternatives you can eat that will halt your cravings between meals. Our favourites are the sweet potato brownies – click below to find them…
1 7 best snacks for footballers
2 6 fruits you should eat for football
3 5 essential foods for football
Post-match
To optimise post-match recovery, you need to eat quality carbohydrates, protein and liquid within 30 minutes of full-time. But what exactly should you eat? We asked our experts for advice on meals, supplements and drinks so you’ll recover as quickly as possible, ready for your next game.
1 Post-match recovery starts here
3 Make the ultimate post-match kebab
4 Why post-match beer can aid recovery
5 Boost recovery with these foods
Drink
Football is thirsty work, and if you don’t stay hydrated you’ll soon find yourself seizing up and running out of gas. We’ve run the rule over sports drinks; tea, coffee, water and even alcohol to see what affect a variety of fluids will have on your performance…
1 6 best ways to avoid a hangover
5 The do’s and don’ts of hydration
Players' diets
Not all footballers eat pasta and rice. We’ve spoken to players from a wide range of countries to see what nutritional tips we can take from different cultures. Like the sound of Lucas Moura’s Brazilian buffet? Or how about Simon Mignolet’s Belgian palette? Get scrolling and see what takes your fancy…
1 Diego Forlan: My 24-hour food diary
3 Lucas Moura’s Brazilian buffet
5 Jordi Alba: Fuel your engine
6 Mario Gotze’s energy-boosting diet
