AS England prepare for the World Cup, locally-based drink maker Lucozade and The Football Association have launched a new high-carbohydrate liquid fuel pouch developed exclusively for the national team.

Lucozade Elite has been produced by the Forest of Dean-based business, which is part of Suntory Beverage & Food GB&I, through the partners' long-standing collaboration.

The announcement has been supported by a new film featuring England star Jude Bellingham – who visited the Coleford factory last year – exploring the role preparation, hydration and fuelling play in modern football performance.

Jude 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."

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 per cent 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 four litres.

England‘s 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.

Developed through collaboration between Lucozade's R&D specialists and the performance nutrition team at the FA, 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.

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: "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."

England open their World Cup campaign against Croatia in Arlington in the USA on Wednesday, June 17, kick-off UK time 9pm.