By Mathias Cohen Scali on 01/04/2020
In soccer (aka “football”) many players have their secret weapon to increase their performances, but this weapon has to be legal.
Whenever a player takes an illegal substance, a drug test can put an or postpone his career, and famous players such as Diego Maradona or Adrian Mutu have experienced it.
According to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), cannabidiol is officially removed from the prohibited in-competition substance since last year (see WADA’s website extract below).
It means that FIFA players can take CBD products in competition, but why should they do it?
Well, there are already multiple athletes using CBD like superstar woman footballer Megan Rapinoe.
She openly said in an interview for Green Entrepreneur in last December that “CBD is a natural alternative that has helped me stay at the top of my game for several years now, whether that be regulating my sleep, relaxing on long flights, helping with inflammation, or recovering after hard training and games. Bottom line, it’s natural, and I don’t want to be filling my body with chemicals. I eat clean and train hard, so I want my recovery process to be as natural as possible.”
CBD is the second most abundant substance in the cannabis plant and is the most important compound in industrial hemp. Like every cannabinoid, CBD works with your body’s naturally occurring compounds in the endocannabinoid system. This system comprises numerous receptors throughout your body which are activated by plant-based phytocannabinoids (such as CBD). CBD indirectly helps the body to maintain a sense of balance, well known as homeostasis.
CBD is a pain reliever and a powerful Anti-Inflammatory
In a professional soccer player day-to-day, injury and pain are common compounds of there work with lead them to use the medicine.
CBD has proven over the years his efficiency and effectiveness, according to a separate study from the Journal of Experimental Medicine. This search demonstrates, among others, that CBD can suppress persistent inflammatory pain, chronic neuropathic pain, and persistent pain.
Another study by the National Institute of Health’s (NIH) Laboratory for Integrative Neuroscience discovered that CBD has significant anti-inflammatory properties
In one sentence, the CBD effect can improve the recovery of a high-level athlete.
CBD reduces Stress Hormones Released via Physical Activity
According to a study from the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil, CBD decreases the secretion of cortisol in the human body. Cortisol is the main hormone of stress secreted by the body and especially during physical activity. This hormone allows you to surpass yourself, but it has many consequences on the body and for the athlete, the challenges are to slow the secretion of cortisol and CBD can be a solution.
CBD could reduce anxiety
On average, the top Premier League matches have more than 1 million viewers. This can be a factor of anxiety for the players, everyone has in mind an important missed penalty (Trezeguet Final World Cup 2006) may be due to anxiety.
A study of 2019 from the University of Colorado states that “Cannabidiol may hold benefit for anxiety-related disorders”, 80% of the tested people suffering from anxiety notice a decrease. CBD has the opportunity to play a major role in players’ anxiety management.
Conclusion
We know that major NFL and NBA players use CBD, where no major European football player does.
All the statements described above will bring the attention of the football players soon and since WADA allowed it, it would be a true miss not to take advantage of such an efficient natural plant such as CBD, to the benefits of the players.
Sources :
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8257923
https://www.greenentrepreneur.com/article/343059
