Whilst the energy demands in amateur football may not be quite as great as in the professional game, a sensible approach to match day nutrition will help to maximise your potential on the pitch.

The infographic shows a selection of meals and snacks providing a range of food options for all tastes and to suit early and late kick-offs. Ideally, players should eat a meal 2-3 hours before exercise, and a snack an hour beforehand.

Here's a couple of examples to suit a morning and afternoon kick off, more examples are shown on the infographic.

Breakfast (pre-match):
Porridge is packed full of slow release carbohydrates that will ensure that your muscle glycogen levels are topped up. If you have an early morning kick off you should try and eat about 2-3 hours before kick-off. If your kick off isn’t until the afternoon you may wish to eat something more substantial at breakfast – a good option is poached eggs with wholemeal toast.

Lunch (pre-match):
If you are working towards an afternoon kick off your lunch will be your pre-match meal. Again, this should be consumed two to three hours before kick-off to ensure your body has time to digest and absorb the nutrients. Again the focus of your meal is carbohydrates and may include a small amount of protein. Options that you could consider include baked potato with tuna or a chicken breast with pasta salad.

If you don’t have time to eat a second meal then you could consider a snack like a banana, cereal bar or sports drink to give you a spike in energy in time for kick off. It’s also important that you don’t neglect your hydration.

infographic courtesy of The Coaching Manual