Is it possible that a searing mouthful of early-harvest olive oil from Cyprus could help athletes recover faster and perform better? Soccer players in Cyprus seem to think so. And they aren’t the only ones with oil pods gaining traction as a natural sports supplement.
Seaweed pods containing individual doses of olive oil with high polyohenol content, produced in Cyprus and exported globally, are placed on an olive grove in Anglisides, Cyprus September 9, 2025. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou
Nick Schizas, a former FIFA-licensed agent turned olive oil producer, noticed while working on and around the soccer field with his players that they were recovering faster and asking for more after trying the oil. “They were coming back with much more energy. They were recovering quicker between their games, between their training, and without me pushing them they were coming back asking for more,” he explained to Reuters.
Together with soil engineer Nicolas Netien, they co-founded a small business marketing early-harvest olive oil, rich in inflammation-busting polyphenols, in single-dose seaweed-based pods. These pods are designed to prevent oxidation and preserve the oil’s potent compounds. Their products are already being used by Premier League soccer players and a professional cycling team competing in the Tour de France.
Olive oil producers Nick Schizas and Nicolas Netien stand at an olive grove in Evrychou, Cyprus June 10, 2025. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou
Netien says the oil contains up to 30 times more polyphenols than standard extra virgin olive oil, and 100 times more Oleocanthal — a polyphenol he describes as “the most natural, powerful anti-inflammatory in the world”. At the same time, the science behind these claims is now moving into the spotlight. Researchers from two Cypriot universities are launching clinical studies later this year investigating the performance of local soccer players while using olive oil as a natural supplement, as well as the oil’s potential impact on gut health.
For Netien, today’s innovation is also a return to a tradition that’s thousands of years old. “There’s a tradition in the Mediterranean, especially in Greece and Cyprus, of doing some olive oil really early in the season … and this oil was kept at home to be used as a medicine,” he stated.
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