Practical · 6 min · 18 August 2026

Eating on a matchday with a 15:00 kick-off

The plan most players are given assumes they have a kitchen, a car and no nerves. Here is one that does not.

The awkward part of a 15:00 kick-off is that the main meal lands somewhere between breakfast and lunch, and most people either eat too close to it or barely eat at all.

Three and a half hours out

Carbohydrate-led, low in fibre and fat, and something you have eaten before a match before. A matchday is the worst possible day to try a new food, and I say that having watched somebody try.

One hour out

Small, and only if you have practised it. Some players do well with something at this point and some feel heavy. Which one you are is worth finding out in training, not on a Saturday.

Afterwards

The half hour after is useful but not magic; the meal two hours later matters more and is the one people miss because they are showering, talking or driving. If you only fix one thing on this list, fix that.

General information, not advice about an individual. Every figure on this site is illustrative. What I can and cannot tell you →