Football help: what is the best thing to eat before football practice. - Help.com

Before any big match you need to prepare your body. Although you need to take on board plenty of carbohydrates it is important to eat them in advance so they have the chance to be broken down in your body, ready to provide you with energy. Michael Moore says that a football team who has a match at 8pm will have a meal at 3pm which will consist of a high-protein starter such as clear chicken soup, then a very high carbohydrate main course including starchy foods such as pasta, rice or potatoes. Moore adds, “If you eat a kilo of rice five minutes before you play it will only have made it to the stomach and won’t even be ready to burn.” Neil Warnock, the manager for Sheffield United agrees: “My players eat a large carbohydrate-heavy meal the night before a big game to ensure they have a good supply of energy.”