Due to the dynamic demands of a football season, it is evident throughout the literature that a more systematic variation in carbohydrate intake may provide athletes with the greatest opportunity to meet the demands of training and competition. Football (soccer) is an intermittent field-based team sport characterised by repetitive brief intense bursts involving rapid changes of direction and explosive accelerations. A heavy reliance on the glycogenolysis pathway to fuel high intensity work has called for appropriate carbohydrate fuelling strategies within the sport. To promote adaptation to training and improved performance, sport nutrition is progressing into the concept of "fuelling for the work required" which involves manipulating an athlete`s nutritional intake to meet their daily training demands. In order for this to successfully occur, practitioners must have an understanding of the factors that influence loads within a football season. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore the theory and practice of training and carbohydrate periodization within football by reviewing the available literature. The current evidence highlights a marked variability within football training practices due to varying philosophies, match demands, training strategies and individual variability. Training loads differ most based on the number of games in a week with a greater frequency of games associated with an increased time spent in high intensity running zones and a greater change of direction stimulus. This calls for nutritional interventions to be based on the number of games and the intensity of the training sessions within the week. Therefore, this study proposes a theoretical framework for carbohydrate periodisation around the unique training profiles of these schedules. This team-based nutritional intervention strategy is a useful starting point from which individuals can vary their nutritional intake according to their specific goals and load requirements. This study also offers practical strategies on how to provide athletes with the greatest opportunity to up-regulate or down-regulate their carbohydrate intake throughout the week to maximise performance.
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