Tournaments Are Key Moments – Let’s Talk Nutrition
Big tournaments bring excitement, but they also demand a lot from athletes. With back-to-back games in a short period, recovery often takes a back seat just when it matters most.
Nutrition plays a critical role in how athletes perform, recover, and stay healthy throughout the competition. By focusing on a few essential strategies, athletes can maximise their performance when it counts.
The top three nutrition priorities during any tournament (no matter the level) are:
- Fuelling to perform and allowing the body to recover immediately following a game;
- Ensuring player’s body composition is optimised;
- Maintaining immune function to avoid players falling ill.
Appropriate Fuelling Pre-Match
As discussed in our blog on Event Fuelling (part 2), team-based sports involve intermittent bursts of high-intensity activity with no predictable pattern or path. The distance run, number of sprints, changes of direction, jumps and technical actions are all dependent on so many factors – many more than we can list in this short blog post.
Therefore, there is never going to be a one-size-fits-all approach to team sports nutrition. Every athlete is going to require individual attention to get it right.
This isn’t to say there aren’t any hard and fast rules that apply to most situations – High-intensity Intermittent sports, like football, inevitably lead to a steady depletion of muscle glycogen (your muscle carbohydrate stores). This is the main source of fuel for extremely explosive actions.
This is why it’s important that an athlete begins a competitive game with a full tank.
This can be achieved by prioritising higher carbohydrate foods on the day before, and the day of the game. Particularly in tournaments like the World Cup, where the window to refuel is limited, a greater focus should be placed on higher carbohydrate foods. However, there is no need to go overboard with this either – training is going to be tapered around these games, so simply eating meals that are higher in carbohydrates will provide the players with the necessary nutrients. Once the glycogen is stored, it will stay there as long as training remains at a relatively low intensity (as is the case in the days surrounding games).
So, what does this mean for recovery?
In most cases, when games or matches are separated by multiple days, there is no urgency in restoring muscle glycogen stores. However, during tournaments, the replenishment of these stores is largely going to dictate how well the athlete can recover. By feeding the muscle carbohydrates immediately following exercise, we are re-filling the fuel tank and giving it “permission” to begin healing. This is why the inclusion of carbohydrates with your protein portion after competition games is particularly important during congested schedules.
Prioritising Energy Levels, Performance, and Wellbeing
Rather than focusing on physical changes (body shape/size) during tournaments, the key is ensuring athletes have the energy and nourishment needed to perform at their best. Big competitions demand a lot from the body, so nutrition should support both peak performance and recovery.
With athletes often needing upwards of 13,000 kJ (or more) each day, it’s important to strike a balance. Eating too little can lead to fatigue, while eating too much may leave players feeling sluggish or bloated—neither of which helps performance on the field.
Fueling to meet the demands of both games and recovery is crucial, especially when food choices are limited by travel or tournament schedules. Here are some practical strategies:
- Match Day and High-Intensity Training: Focus on carbohydrates to fuel performance and quality proteins for recovery.
- Lower Training or Rest Days: Prioritise variety—fruits, vegetables, proteins, and healthy fats—to promote overall wellbeing and support the immune system.
By aligning food intake with training and competition demands, athletes can stay energised, perform at their best, and maintain a positive relationship with food throughout the tournament.
Maintaining Immune Function
The last thing a coach wants is an athlete to be ruled out because of a preventable illness.
The trick to maintaining immune function is to have a large variety of nutrient-dense foods including fruit, vegetables, beans, whole grains, meats and dairy. Athletes are encouraged to consume a variety of colours as these offer the perfect range of vitamins and minerals.
Tournaments hosted in foreign countries can often make sourcing these foods a challenge. Many countries also carry their own unique food safety risks which should be investigated & planned for prior to travelling. Getting to know the location beforehand and finding out what food is on offer are important first steps. If still unsure, seek the advice of a sports dietitian who has an understanding of travel nutrition.
Regardless of where the tournament is held, considering the inclusion of probiotics from a couple of weeks out might be a good idea. Ensuring that food is prepared and stored appropriately will also reduce the risk of these concerns.
Remember, every athlete is different and there is no single diet that meets the needs of all athletes, all the time.
In tournament settings, the priority should solely be on the performance and well-being of the squad. Having these strategies in place from the beginning will remove a major stressor from competition.
