Background: Football is a sport characterized by periods of moderate intensity activity interspersed by short periods of high intensity sprinting activity. A high level of energy expenditure, coupled with fluid loss owing to the hot and humid climate, and injuries, means sound nutritional and hydration strategies are required to optimize performance. Although the players and the coaches usually understand the principles of physical training, they often neglect the equally well developed Principles of Nutrition. Aim: To assess the Nutrition Knowledge of Football Players and formulate an effective Nutrition Communication Package for Indian Football team. Methods and Materials: Two Hundred Football players from all over India were selected and their Knowledge about nutrition and health were elicited using a pretested validated questionnaire which included questions on various aspects of nutrition including healthy balanced diet, macronutrients, micronutrients, fluid and electrolyte, pre competition, during and post competition meals and nutrition labeling, at baseline and based on their knowledge and extensive literature review on sports nutrition, the nutrition education program was formulated. The Nutrition Knowledge questionnaire was scored, each correct answer was given a score of one and each wrong answer, a score of zero. Statistical analysis was done using Mean, Standard deviation and Percentages. Results: The mean nutrition knowledge of football players was observed to be low. Based on the gaps of knowledge after analysis of the data a Nutrition Communication Package was formulated. The “benchmark principles to victory” included healthy balanced diet-selecting carbohydrates the healthy way, proteins for healthy muscles, Good fat-omega 3, immunity enhancers, pre event fuelling, competition drinks and post competition recovery food and rehydration solutions. This Nutrition communication package was transformed into power point presentations, leaflets and fact sheets and can be delivered through Individual Counseling and focus group discussions. Conclusion: This comprehensive Nutrition Communication Package including “Benchmark principles to victory” can be an ideal training material for our Football team and can be modified based on the requirement of individual sport in India.

Keywords: Nutrition communication package; Football; Football players; Nutrition knowledge.