How Many Calories Does Soccer Burn?

Soccer calories by weight & duration

The ~492 calories per hour figure is an estimate for a 155 lb person playing recreational soccer at a MET of 7, and your actual number will vary based on your weight, fitness level, and how intensely the session runs. You can log your soccer sessions and track how your burn adds up over time in the Mariposas app.

Calculated as MET (7) × body weight (kg) × hours. How this works.

What to expect in a soccer class

A first recreational session usually begins with a short warmup, some basic passing drills or a rondo (a keep-away circle drill), and then moves into a small-sided game like 5v5 or 7v7. Expect frequent short sprints followed by slower jogging or walking as play flows around the field. You won't be running at full pace for 90 straight minutes. The effort comes in bursts, and beginners often notice their legs tiring quickly because those short accelerations recruit fast-twitch muscle fibers that steady-state cardio doesn't train as directly.

Tips for your first soccer class

• Focus on positioning over fancy footwork early on. Knowing where to stand so a teammate can easily pass to you contributes more to your team than trying to dribble past defenders.
• Wear soccer cleats or turf shoes that match the surface you're playing on. Running shoes on a grass pitch reduce traction and increase the chance of slipping during quick direction changes.
• Hydrate before you arrive. Because soccer involves constant movement with few natural stopping points, you may not realize how much you've sweated until the game is over.
• Don't chase the ball everywhere. New players often sprint toward the ball every time it moves, which burns them out in the first 20 minutes. Let the game come to you when possible and recover your breath between sprints.

What affects how many calories soccer burns

The MET value of 7 reflects moderate recreational play, but your actual burn shifts considerably based on how much of the game you're involved in, your position, and the competitiveness of the session. A central midfielder who presses hard and covers ground both directions will work at a meaningfully higher output than a player who mostly holds position. Because calorie expenditure scales with body weight, a heavier player burns more per hour at the same MET, so the 492 cal/hr figure is specific to a 155 lb person playing at that general intensity level.

Three things move your number most: body weight (a heavier body burns more for the same activity, that's why the table runs from 125 to 225 lb), duration (calories scale with time), and intensity. A soccer you push hard burns more than an easy one, because effort is what the MET value of 7 represents, an average for this activity. Your fitness level and how much you rest between efforts shift it too, so treat these as a solid estimate rather than an exact count.

How we calculate soccer calories

Every number here uses the standard energy-expenditure formula: calories ≈ MET × body weight (kg) × time (hours). The MET value of 7 for soccer comes from the published Compendium of Physical Activities, the same reference researchers and fitness trackers use. We convert your weight to kilograms and multiply through, no fudge factors. See our methodology for the full formula and sources.