The Rules of the Game: Towards a Theory of Practice for Performance Nutritionists in Professional Soccer Using Bourdieu’s Concepts of Habitus, Capital and Field

Foo, WL ORCID: 0009-0001-8702-9898, Cronin, CJ ORCID: 0000-0002-1687-4437, Close, GL ORCID: 0000-0002-7210-9553 and Morton, JP ORCID: 0000-0003-2776-2542 (2026) The Rules of the Game: Towards a Theory of Practice for Performance Nutritionists in Professional Soccer Using Bourdieu’s Concepts of Habitus, Capital and Field. Sports Medicine. ISSN 0112-1642

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Abstract

Background and Objective
Performance nutrition is now an established discipline in professional soccer; however, limited knowledge exists on how practitioners can navigate through the unique cultural environment of the men’s professional game. Accordingly, we explored the perspectives of players and stakeholders from the English Premier League on the attributes they perceive to underpin successful performance nutrition practice.

Methods
Guided by an interpretivist paradigm with a critical perspective (recognising that reality is also subjectively and socially constructed), qualitative face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with purposively sampled English Premier League stakeholders from August 2024 to December 2024, including players (n = 4), coaches (n = 4), sports scientists (n = 2), physiotherapists (n = 2), a chef (n = 1) and a medical doctor (n = 1). Data were abductively analysed using a thematic analysis informed by Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus, capital and field.

Results
Three key themes were identified. It is perceived that (1) Field: successful performance nutritionists must recognise and adapt to the hierarchical structure, entrenched cultural norms and doxic practices of professional soccer, adapting their strategies to gain support from coaches, players and staff; (2) Capital: effective performance nutrition practice requires strategic deployment of cultural capital (technical, sports-specific and interdisciplinary knowledge) and social capital (ability to build trust and relationships with key stakeholders) to establish credibility and influence practice; (3) Habitus: the ability to accumulate and mobilise these forms of capital is underpinned by a habitus congruent with elite soccer’s culture, characterised by passion, resilience, adaptability and positivity.

Conclusions
These data provides a comprehensive interpretation of the unwritten rules of professional soccer, demonstrating that the perceived success for performance nutritionists in the English Premier League extends beyond technical expertise, requiring the ability to navigate tacit field rules, strategically mobilise cultural and social capital and embody a habitus aligned with the values of elite soccer through passion, adaptability, positivity and resilience.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	0913 Mechanical Engineering; 1106 Human Movement and Sports Sciences; 1302 Curriculum and Pedagogy; Sport Sciences; 4201 Allied health and rehabilitation science; 4207 Sports science and exercise
Subjects:	T Technology > TX Home economics > TX341 Nutrition. Foods and food supply R Medicine > RC Internal medicine > RC1200 Sports Medicine G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GV Recreation Leisure > GV561 Sports
Divisions:	Sport and Exercise Sciences
Publisher:	Springer
Date of acceptance:	4 February 2026
Date of first compliant Open Access:	10 March 2026
Date Deposited:	10 Mar 2026 15:47
Last Modified:	10 Mar 2026 15:47
DOI or ID number:	10.1007/s40279-026-02408-5
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/28227

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