As England prepare for a summer of international football, Lucozade and The Football Association are revealing how player preparation continues to evolve to meet the demands of the modern game. Central to that is Lucozade Elite, a new high-carbohydrate liquid fuel pouch developed exclusively for England teams through the partners’ long-standing collaboration.
With longer matches, increasingly congested schedules and the challenge of competing in warmer conditions placing greater demands on athletes, hydration, fuelling and recovery have become increasingly important components of performance. Sports science research shows that a loss of sweat equivalent to more than 2% of body mass can have detrimental effects on performance, while mean sweat losses of 2–2.5 litres have been observed during exercise in hot conditions, with some athletes losing as much as 4 litres*.
England teams’ performance data also highlights the demands placed on modern players, with hydration and fuelling requirements varying considerably between individuals and environments, while opportunities to consume fluids and carbohydrates during competition can often be limited. As a result, performance nutrition teams continue to explore practical ways to support athletes before, during and after competition, particularly when opportunities to consume carbohydrates during play can be restricted.
Developed through collaboration between Lucozade’s R&D specialists and performance nutrition team at the Football Association, Lucozade Elite is a high-carbohydrate electrolyte solution in a 350ml liquid serving. The pouch was created specifically for elite football environments and provides a concentrated carbohydrate liquid in a practical format for use during training and competition.
The innovation forms part of a wider hydration, fuelling and recovery approach used across England teams, alongside Lucozade Sport, Lucozade Sport Energy Gels and frozen Lucozade Sport products.
In exploring ways to support athlete fuelling during competition, England’s performance nutrition team found inspiration in a familiar piece of football culture. The original Lucozade Sport pouch was a recognisable sight on football touchlines throughout the 1990s. While Lucozade Elite is an entirely new Fuelling solution exclusively available to the England team, the practicality of the original pouch’s squeezable liquid format remains a great solution for elite football environments.
Dr Chris Rosimus, men’s lead performance nutritionist at The Football Association, said: “As the game continues to evolve, performance teams are constantly looking at practical ways to support players in training and competition. Hydration, fuelling and recovery all play an important role, particularly when players are operating in demanding schedules, challenging environments and high-intensity competition.
“One of the areas we explored was how players could consume carbohydrates during competition. The original Lucozade Sport pouch demonstrated how practical a squeezable liquid format could be. That insight helped inspire an entirely new solution developed specifically for the demands of modern football.”
Matthew Riches, head of sponsorship at Lucozade, said: “The demands placed on elite footballers continue to evolve, and our partnership with The Football Association gives us a unique opportunity to understand those challenges first-hand. Lucozade Elite is the result of close collaboration between our R&D team and performance nutrition practitioners supporting England teams.
“For decades, Lucozade has been part of football culture. It’s fitting that a familiar part of that heritage helped inspire an innovation developed for the modern game.”
The announcement is supported by new film featuring Jude Bellingham, exploring the role preparation, hydration and fuelling play in modern football performance.
Jude Bellingham said: “Football is demanding enough on its own, but when you’re playing regularly and at the highest level, the small details become even more important. Everything around preparation, hydration and fuelling has to be right so you can perform consistently throughout a game. The right preparation can make a big difference.”
