Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/333851
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 22 JUNE 2014 News 13 A MaltaToday survey conducted over the past week shows that Italy has overtaken England, by a small margin, as Malta's favourite football team among the nations battling it out in the World Cup. Previous surveys conducted by Mal- taToday in 2006 and 2010 showed England slightly ahead although Italy was already more popular among younger respondents and university educated respondents. In fact in this survey although sup- port for England has risen among 18 to 34 year-olds, it declined among the 35 to 55-year-old age bracket. The survey follows similar patterns established in previous surveys, con- firming the political divide between pro English Labour and pro Italian PN. But over the past eight years sup- port for Italy has also grown consid- erably among PL voters, while sup- port for England has slightly declined among PN voters. The survey confirms Manchester United as the international club with the strongest following but this does not necessarily translate into support for the British national team. In fact, 16% of supporters of this club sup- port other national teams. Football demographics The 2010 World Cup showed that England supporters outnumbered Italy supporters (34% vs. 31%), confirming a similar three- point gap registered in the 2006 survey. But in the latest survey Italy has overtaken England marginally, by less than a percentage point. The latest survey shows that while support for the two teams is practically equal among males, Italy enjoys a two- point lead among fe- males. Moreover while support for Italy has grown by eight points among 35 to 55 year olds, which is the generation that grew fol- lowing Italian TV, support for England is rising among those aged 18 to 34 - the generation which grew up with cable and sat- ellite TV and the commer- cialisation of club football dominated by brand names like Manchester United. In fact, the latest survey showed that the latter are the most popular club in Malta. While in 2010 in the 18-34 age bracket, 44% supported Italy while 32% supported England, now 44% back Italy while 39% back England. Back in 2006, 46% supported Italy, and only 24% sup- ported England. On the other hand, among those aged over 55, 39% side with Eng- land while only 31% side with Italy. This suggests an increase in sup- port for Italy among the oldest age group as people who grew up watching Italian TV get older while the pre-war generation which remembers Italian planes bombing Malta pass- es away. Clearly, although Italy is now ahead, demograph- ic trends which previ- ously favoured Italy in the perennial 'old firm' struggle between the former colonial rulers and our Latin neighbours, may be turning in England's favour as a new generation largely untouched by Italian TV takes over. Still despite the transformation of football into a globalised spec- tacle, support remains low for other teams outside the Italy vs England dichotomy. MaltaToday survey shows Italy are more popular among new generations and anybody aged under 55 years, the university- educated, and PN voters, while England remains more popular among Labour voters and over-55 year olds News mt survey Italy overtakes England as most supported team in Malta Football clubs most supported in Malta % Manchester United 20.2 Juventus 12.8 Liverpool 9.2 Milan 6.1 Inter 5.6 Arsenal 1.8 Bayern Munich 1.1 Chelsea 0.9 Tottenham 0.7 Roma 0.7 Others 9.4 None 31.5 Favourite foreign national team among Manchester United supporters % Italy 2.2 England 83.5 Brazil 6.5 Others 6.8 None 1