Research has shown that Yerba Mate contains a lot of health benefits, thanks to its high levels of antioxidants and nutrients.
Perhaps that is why in places like Uruguay and Argentina, the old tradition of consuming Mate is basically as rooted as playing football – a sport that, as it turns out, appears to fit Yerba Mate well: South American footballers, even World-Cup winners, have come to enjoy the benefits of a warm Mate before working out and competing.
Mate has turned into the best companion for great footballers prior to and after a game. Apart from being a key ceremony, a talisman, an energy reinforcement, they value its numerous benefits:
Uruguayan, Argentinians and Paraguayan footballers drink Mate on a regular basis; many of them even boast about it on social media. However, who drinks more? The celebrated Leo Messi (Argentina), the striker Luis Suárez (Uruguay), or even Antoine Griezmann (France), who has Mate every morning and prior to each training? It is hard to tell. It is a fact that Uruguayan footballers carry twice as many thermoses and Mate pots with them as Argentinians, but both of them delight in drinking Mate to release the stress connected with such a demanding sport.