Coffee, Caffeine & Soccer: What You Need to Know
Is Coffee Good For Soccer Players? How Does Caffeine Impact A Soccer Player’s Performance? Is Coffee Dehydrating? Is it okay to drink coffee when working out? Here are the answers to these questions on coffee and being a soccer player.
Nancy Clark, MS RD CSSD, counsels fitness exercisers and competitive athletes in the Boston area (617-795-1875). Her best-selling Sports Nutrition Guidebook and online workshop are popular resources. Visit NancyClarkRD.com for more information.
Thankfully, coffee can be enjoyed guilt-free as part of a healthy sports diet for millions of soccer players worldwide. 
Coffee contains nutrient-dense plant compounds called phytochemicals that promote health and offer strong anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Studies suggest coffee can improve heart health. That said, high coffee/caffeine intakes can trigger pre-existing cardiovascular conditions such as atrial fibrillation. Coffee brimming with sugar, flavorings, cream, and coffee whitener is not a part of this conversation!
Scientifically speaking, coffee and caffeine are two different substances.
Caffeine is pure and comes in standardized doses (such as NoDoz, caffeinated chewing gum, caffeinated sports gels,). The average American consumes 165 to 230 mg. caffeine per day—that’s more-or-less the amount in two small (8-oz) cups coffee or a 16-oz Starbucks Grande.
The caffeine content of coffee varies according to the type of bean, how it is roasted, ground, and brewed. Analysis of 20 commercial espressos reported the caffeine content was inconsistent and ranged between 50 to 320 mg per 8-ounce serving. FDA’s recommended daily limit is 400 mg caffeine per day.
Although coffee is the most popular form of caffeine, other sources include:
- Tea: 30-50 mg caffeine/8 oz
- Cola: 30-40 gm/12-oz can
- Energy drinks: 100 mg/12-oz can Red Bull
- Energy bars: 80 mg/Verb Energy Bar
- Electrolyte tablets: 40 mg/tablet Nuun Sport + Caffeine
- Caffeinated chewing gum: 100mg/piece Rev Energy Gem
Caffeine appears quickly in the blood (within 5 to 45 minutes after ingestion). Its impact generally peaks within 15 to 120 minutes and the boost lasts about 4 to 6 hours. By that time, half of the caffeine has been metabolized by the liver. By 10 hours, caffeine will have completely cleared from the bloodstream.
Caffeine’s impact varies widely from person to person, depending on genes that influence the breakdown of caffeine. Soccer players who are fast metabolizers of caffeine get an immediate boost. Others who are slow metabolizers will notice less of an impact. Learn your body’s response!
Coffee and Soccer: The Scoop
For soccer players who already feel anxious before a competitive event, pre-exercise caffeine can put them over the edge by increasing jitters and anxiety levels.
A better time to consume caffeine to enhance performance can be when the player starts to feel tired (as opposed to taking it an hour before exercise). Delaying caffeine use until the onset of fatigue gives a welcomed boost. Caffeinated gels, sports drinks, or sports chewing gums are popular energizers during long training sessions and games!
Given that most soccer players already know that coffee or caffeine can make a workout seem easier, this article addresses other questions asked about this beloved morning wake-me-up and idolized afternoon energizer.
Do habitual coffee drinkers get the same performance benefits as non-users?
Yes. If you habitually drink coffee daily, you may need a higher dose of performance-enhancing caffeine than a coffee-abstainer.
A proposed dose is about:
- 1-2 mg/lb for non-users
- 1.5-3 mg/lb for average coffee drinkers
- 3-4.5 mg/lb for heavy coffee drinkers.
For a 150-lb soccer player, this ranges widely between 150 and 450 mg per dose.
The days before your essential game, there’s no need to stop drinking coffee. You’ll simply suffer through withdrawal symptoms like headaches. You won’t get an added boost from abstinence followed by a game-day caffeine jolt.
How much is too much coffee/caffeine?
The FDA suggested 400 milligrams of caffeine daily as a safe dose for most adults. That’s the amount in about four 8-oz cups (32 oz.) of coffee, 10 cans of cola, or four 12-ounce cans of Red Bull. If you are pregnant, abstaining from coffee will minimize the risk of miscarriage or other adverse outcomes. A toxic amount is 1,200 mg caffeine taken in one dose. Unlikely to happen, but not impossible…
Does coffee/caffeine “work” for every type of athlete?
Yes, caffeine can effectively—and equally—help males and females, sprinters and endurance athletes, power athletes and teams. Athletes have sought out caffeine for more than 100 years. It improves both physical and mental performance. Caffeine increases arousal, alertness, vigilance, and mood. It reduces perception of pain and makes a tough workout seem much easier! That said, caffeine’s effectiveness is variable. Depending on their genetic predisposition, the response is weaker for some athletes and stronger for others.
The suggested performance-enhancing dose is between 1.5-3 mg/lb. That equals roughly 200 to 400 mg for a 150-lb (68 kg) soccer player. That said, each player needs to experiment during training to learn the correct dose, timing, and source of caffeine for their body. Perhaps a sip of morning coffee does the job? Or maybe you benefit from a few packets of caffeinated gels taken at half-time during a game? Whatever you do, don’t over-do it! More is not better, and you want to be able to sleep that night…
Is coffee dehydrating when taken during exercise? When consumed throughout the day?
No. Caffeine is not a diuretic. Drinking coffee does not lead to dehydration.
A study with 50 habitual male coffee drinkers who consumed coffee with ~300 mg. caffeine four times a day indicated no difference in urine output compared to when they drank the same amount of plain water. That means you can count coffee as water, even when exercising in the heat. It replaces sweat losses and contributes to the daily recommended 8 glasses water a day.
Many soccer players believe coffee has a diuretic effect because, after having consumed a mugful of coffee, they need to visit the bathroom.
While they might need to pee quicker than if they had consumed plain water, in 24-hours, they won’t pee more than they consumed. (That is, unless they consume very high doses of caffeine (>6 mg/kg or >500 mg/dose). By that point, they would likely feel yucky and jittery.
If you are a coffee drinker, please enjoy your morning brew guilt-free (as long as it is not excessively loaded with cream and sugar). As an athlete, you may want to learn how to best use coffee/caffeine as a potential performance enhancer.
THAT SAID, NO AMOUNT OF CAFFEINE WILL COMPENSATE FOR INADEQUATE SLEEP AND AN IRRESPONSIBLE SPORT DIET.
Fuel wisely, sleep well, train appropriately, and add some caffeine, if desired.
Nancy Clark MS RD CSSD counsels both fitness exercisers and competitive athletes in the Boston-area (617-962-4382). Her best-selling Sports Nutrition Guidebook is a popular resource. Visit NancyClarkRD.com for more information.
