Soccer and Testosterone: How Does the Game Influence Male Sexual Desire?

If you’re reading this, chances are soccer plays some role in your life . You like watching it, talking about it, living it. And maybe, after a particularly intense match, you’ve felt something shift inside you. More energy, a better mood, a stronger urge to move… or even to have sex. You’re not alone. What’s interesting is that this isn’t just a feeling. There’s actually a biological explanation behind it, and it has to do with how your body works.

Soccer, whether you experience it from the stands or your couch, does more than stir up emotions. It activates hormonal mechanisms that directly impact your physical and emotional state . And one of the main players in this story is testosterone: that hormone everyone talks about, but few truly understand.

Today, we’re going to explore the link between soccer and male sexual desire. No exaggerations, no myths, and most importantly, no clichés. Because the body has its own language and it’s worth listening to it a little more closely.

What Happens to the Body During a Match?

Testosterone is a hormone that plays multiple roles in men: it helps maintain muscle mass, regulates mood, influences energy levels. And yes, it also affects sexual desire . It’s not the only factor involved, but it does play a significant role.

So, what does all this have to do with soccer? Quite a lot, actually. Several studies have shown that competitive situations can trigger a rise in testosterone, even when you're not the one physically competing. Especially if your team wins. Watching a match, getting fully immersed in it, and celebrating a victory isn’t so different, hormonally speaking, from having played the game yourself.

A classic study published in Physiology & Behavior (Bernhardt et al., 1998) showed that fans of winning teams experienced a significant boost in testosterone right after the match . And we’re not just talking about an emotional high: this increase was measurable in their blood.²

That hormone surge has consequences. You feel more alert, more powerful… even more attractive. And yes, it can also ramp up your sexual desire. Because your body interprets that moment as a kind of “triumph” and reacts the same way it would after any victory.

Competition, Victory, and Desire: A Hormonal Triangle 

The link between competition and desire is nothing new. From a psychobiological perspective, we know that testosterone is closely tied to behaviors related to dominance, motivation, and the pursuit of reward . In other words, when you feel like you’ve won something, your body celebrates with a hormonal cocktail that makes you feel on top of the world even if all you did was cheer from your living room couch.

It’s not just a matter of biology. There’s also something symbolic at play: when your team wins, you win a little too. You feel more confident, more capable, more “in shape.” That sense of control and boosted self-esteem also affects how you see yourself and how your desire is triggered. In fact, a study by Mazur and Booth (1998) found that testosterone increases not only after physical success, but also after perceived or symbolic victories .³

And yes, you might be wearing sweatpants with pizza crumbs on your shirt but if your team just scored in the final minute, your body might be reacting as if you’d just conquered the world. Or at least, as if you gave it your best shot.

What Doesn’t Usually Get Said

Let’s be honest: we live in a culture that expects men to always be in the mood, always ready, always responsive at the slightest cue. But that’s not realistic . And when it does happen, it’s often driven by pressure. To perform, to “measure up,” to stay on script.

Soccer sometimes works as a release valve for that pressure . It’s a socially accepted space to feel, to get emotional, to blow off steam. But if we reduce everything to a simplistic narrative of “match = testosterone = sex,” we’re ignoring how complex male desire can really be.

And this needs to be said too: not feeling desire after a match doesn’t mean something’s “wrong.” Desire doesn’t always follow a pattern. It can show up, fade, shift. And that, too, is part of the experience of being a man. Making space to talk about that is a way of taking care of both sexual and emotional health, without mockery or clichés.

Conclusion: The Body as an Emotional Barometer

The body speaks, even if we don’t always know how to listen. Sometimes it speaks through sweat, shouting or urges. Other times, through fatigue or silence. Soccer , though it may seem like just a pastime (or a way of life, depending on who you ask), pushes a lot of emotional buttons that then echo through the body . It can show up as energy, as desire, or as a need for connection.

Understanding that there’s a link between what you feel and how your body responds doesn’t mean falling into simplistic explanations. It means recognizing that we’re complex beings and that what happens on the pitch can reveal a lot about what’s happening inside us.

So if you feel more alive, more fired up, more ready to take on the world after a match… it’s not a coincidence. That’s your body saying, “this moved me.” Desire doesn’t always have to be immediate or intense. Sometimes, it’s just a quiet reminder that you’re alive.

Sources

1. Bernhardt, P.C., Dabbs, J.M., et al. (1998). Testosterone changes during vicarious experiences of winning and losing among fans at sporting events. Physiology & Behavior.
   
   

2. Mazur, A., Booth, A. (1998). Testosterone and dominance in men. Behavioral and Brain Sciences.
   
   

3. Hunter Murray, S. (2019). Not Always in the Mood: The New Science of Men, Sex, and Relationships.
   
   

4. Gielen, A.C., et al. (2007). Men's roles in sexual and reproductive health. The Journal of Men's Health & Gender.