A Systematic Review of Nutritional Ergogenic Aids on Physiological Responses and Skilled Performance among Football Players

Background.The exact amount, timing, and types of supplements should be based on physiological demands and level of training.Objectives.This systematic review aims to investigate the effects of supplements among football players.Methods.Literature was searched systematically based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, using the following keywords: (#drink or #supplement) and (#soccer or #football) in Web of Science, ScienceDirect, PubMed, ProQuest, and Scopus databases from year 2016 up to 2024.Out of 15 studies, four were conducted to determine the effects of hydroelectrolytic beverages, while the remaining eleven were conducted using various beverages.Results.Some physiological responses, such as plasma urea, aspartate aminotransferase, and alanine aminotransferase, improved after consumption of whey permeated with phenolic extract from the jaboticaba peel.Another study using deep ocean minerals (DOM) and carbohydrate electrolytes (CE) showed that skilled performance, such as high-intensity running capacity, dribbling speed, and other soccer-specific performance, was increased.Meanwhile, watermelon beverages combined with the Running-based Anaerobic Sprint Test (RAST) protocol reduced fatigue index (FI) and thus induced recovery phases.Isomaltulose ingestion led to increased blood glucose.A combination of TeaCrine (TCr) and caffeine ingestion, combined with four sessions of a 90-minute simulated treadmill soccer match, increased running time-to-exhaustion (TTE).Conclusion.Therefore, supplements benefit football players' fitness and performance and are recommended as an ergogenic aid.The most popular form is the drink type.