Carbohydrate Availability and Running Performance in Professional Male Footballers

NCT07668726 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: Göteborg University
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 17
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn how different daily carbohydrate intakes affect training performance in professional male football players during a pre-season training week. The main questions it aims to answer are:

• Does a higher carbohydrate intake affect how much high-speed running and sprinting players complete during football training?
• Does a higher carbohydrate intake affect players' jumping performance, perceived effort, recovery, and daily readiness? Researchers will compare two carbohydrate intakes. In one condition, participants will consume a moderate-carbohydrate diet. In the other condition, participants will consume the same base diet plus carbohydrate drinks. The drinks will look and taste similar, but only one type will contain extra carbohydrate. Participants will complete both conditions during two pre-season training weeks. The order of the conditions will be randomized. This means participants will be assigned by chance to start with either the moderate-carbohydrate condition or the higher-carbohydrate condition. During the study, participants will:
• Follow a standardized diet during each training week
• Drink three study beverages per day during each condition
• Take part in their regular team football training
• Wear a global positioning system device during training to measure running activity
• Complete countermovement jump tests during the training weeks
• Report their perceived effort, recovery, and daily readiness This study will help researchers understand whether changing carbohydrate intake during a normal football training week affects training output and recovery-related measures in professional football players.

Conditions

Carbohydrate Intake and Exercise Performance

Keywords

Exercise Performance; Football; Carbohydrate Intake

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• High-Speed Running Distance

  Distance covered at speeds \>19.8 km·h-¹ during football training sessions, measured in meters using a global positioning system device.

  During each football training session in each of the two 1-week intervention periods

• Number of Sprints

  Number of sprint efforts performed during football training sessions, measured using a global positioning system device.

  During each football training session in each of the two 1-week intervention periods

• Sprint Distance

  Distance covered at speeds \>25.2 km·h-¹ during football training sessions, measured in meters using a global positioning system device.

  During each football training session in each of the two 1-week intervention periods

Secondary Outcomes (10)

• Total Distance Covered

  During each football training session in each of the two 1-week intervention periods

• High Metabolic Load Distance

  During each football training session in each of the two 1-week intervention periods

• Acceleration Distance

  During each football training session in each of the two 1-week intervention periods

• Number of Accelerations

  During each football training session in each of the two 1-week intervention periods

• Deceleration Distance

  During each football training session in each of the two 1-week intervention periods

Study Arms (2)

High-Carbohydrate First Sequence

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants completed the high-carbohydrate condition during the first pre-season training week, followed by the moderate-carbohydrate condition during the second pre-season training week.

Dietary Supplement: High-Carbohydrate Beverage; Dietary Supplement: placebo beverage

Moderate-Carbohydrate First Sequence

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants completed the moderate-carbohydrate condition during the first pre-season training week, followed by the high-carbohydrate condition during the second pre-season training week.

Dietary Supplement: High-Carbohydrate Beverage; Dietary Supplement: placebo beverage

Interventions

placebo beverage DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Participants consumed three daily placebo beverages without added carbohydrate in addition to the same standardized food-based diet providing 4 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram of body mass per day. The total target intake was 4 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram of body mass per day.

Also known as: M-CHO, Moderate-carbohydrate condition, Placebo beverage condition

High-Carbohydrate First Sequence; Moderate-Carbohydrate First Sequence

High-Carbohydrate Beverage DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Participants consumed three daily maltodextrin-containing beverages in addition to a standardized food-based diet providing 4 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram of body mass per day. The beverages provided an additional 3 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram of body mass per day, resulting in a total target intake of 7 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram of body mass per day.

Also known as: H-CHO, High-carbohydrate condition, High carbohydrate availability

High-Carbohydrate First Sequence; Moderate-Carbohydrate First Sequence

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: male
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Professional male football player
• Outfield player
• Member of the recruited professional football team
• Available to take part in the pre-season training period
• Able to follow the study diet and beverage protocol
• Able to wear a global positioning system device during training
• Provided written informed consent

You may not qualify if:

• Goalkeeper
• Injured at the start of the study period
• Expected to leave the team on loan during the study period
• Unable to complete both dietary conditions

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Göteborg University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Center for Health and Performance, Department of Food and Nutrition, and Sport Science University of Gothenburg, Sweden

Gothenburg, 40530, Sweden

Location

Study Officials

• Stefan Pettersson, PhD, Associate Professor

  Department of Food and Nutrition, and Sport Science, Göteborgs universitet, Gothenburg, Sweden

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Associate Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: June 9, 2026
• First Posted: June 25, 2026
• Study Start: April 1, 2026
• Primary Completion: May 1, 2026
• Study Completion: May 1, 2026
• Last Updated: June 25, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-06

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

SE (1)