Less than 4% of participants in studies of carb-based fuelling strategies for soccer have been female

The new research published in  Science and Medicine in Football has shown a stark gender imbalance in studies examining carbohydrate-based fuelling strategies for soccer performance, with female athletes representing just 3.7% of all participants across 43 studies conducted between 1992 and 2024 that investigated how carbohydrate intake affects soccer performance. 

Of the 542 total participants across all studies, only 20 were female, while 522 were male. 95.3% of all studies focused exclusively on male athletes, while only one study examined an all-female cohort. Just two studies included any female participants at all.

Elite female soccer players now complete approximately 10 kilometres of total distance during matches, including 2.5 kilometres of high-speed running and over 160 accelerations—physical demands that require carefully planned nutrition strategies to maintain performance throughout 90-minute games.

Existing carbohydrate fuelling guidelines recommend specific intake amounts for the day before matches (6-8 grams per kilogram of body weight), on match day, and during games. However, the study from PhD student Laura McManus, lab manager Vinicius Faria, Dr Michael Scriney and Dr Brendan Egan reveals these recommendations are based almost entirely on research conducted with male athletes.

Women typically have different muscle fibre compositions, rely more heavily on fat oxidation during prolonged exercise, and may have varying carbohydrate storage capacities compared to men. Observational studies show female soccer players typically consume 3-4 grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight daily—well below the 6-8 grams recommended in current guidelines, which are based primarily on male data.

A recent study of English international female players found that only one out of 24 players consumed the recommended carbohydrate amounts on the day before a game, with the team averaging just 3.2 grams per kilogram of body weight.

The research underscores a broader challenge in sports science: ensuring that the fastest-growing demographic in soccer receives the same level of scientific attention and evidence-based support as their male counterparts.