Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/702141
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 10 JULY 2016 11 MaltaToday Survey SUPPORT FOR ITALY HIGHER THAN THAT FOR ENGLAND Italians remain most popular football team for Maltese following international competitions... only 4% have Portugal or France at heart JAMES DEBONO A survey held in the week during which England and Italy were eliminated from the European Nations Cup shows Italy leading England by 10 points in football support in Malta, and only 4% siding with a team which made it to tonight's final, between France and Portugal The survey by MaltaToday suggests that Italy is the favourite football team among women and all age groups under 55 years. The survey also shows only 4% supporting France and Portugal, the two finalists of the competition. Support for the two teams appears to be equally split. Respondents were asked to state which was their fa- vourite football team among those who qualified for the Euro 2016 championships being played in France. The survey was held during a bad week for both fa- vourite teams – both were eliminated at the hands of Germany and Iceland respectively. But England's ear- lier exit could have further demoralised its support- ers while Italy's exit on penalties at the hands of the highly fancied Germany may have kept its supporters less dissatisfied. The survey shows a gender divide, with 49% of wom- en siding with Italy compared to 40% of males. Among males the gap in support between the two teams amounts to just six points while among females the gap rises to 13 points. The survey also shows support for England lowest among 13- to 17-year olds and highest among 55- to 64-year olds. England was the preferred team among 55- to 74-year olds but support for Italy is higher in all other age groups. Support for Italy is highest among 25- to 44-year olds. This may reflect the fact that England has won the last major competition, the World Cup in 1966, a feat remembered by over 55-year olds, while Italy last won the World Cup in 2006 and was runner up in the Euro 2012 championships. Reigning world champions Germany emerge as the third force of Maltese football preferences, chosen by 4%. But Germany faces rising competition from Spain, which is the preferred team of 3%, just above neigh- bouring Portugal. Support for Spain is highest among the 13- to 17-year bracket where Spain is as popular as England. Support among this age group may reflect Spain's success in international competitions in the past dec- ade. Interestingly 'Abs' (professionals and managers) are the most likely to support Italy while the self-em- ployed are the most likely to support England. Working class respondents are equally divided be- tween Italy and England. Support for Germany is highest among those with a clerical, technical or vo- cational job. The survey also showed that 1% of respondents chose Iceland, who surprisingly managed to reach the quarter final stage, as their favourite team. Methodology The survey was conducted between Monday, 27 June and Monday, 4 July. It was stopped when the 500-quo- ta sample was reached. The results were weighed ac- cording to sex and age according to the data for the Maltese population as published in the latest census issued by the National Office of Statistics. The survey has a margin of error of +/-4.6 points. Knocked out on penalties: Italy was seen off by Germany in the quarter-finals AB C1 C2 DE Self-employed Student Italy 57.9% 52.2% 40% 31.8% 33.3% 25% England 26.3% 32.6% 40% 31.8% 51.5% 46.4% Germany 2.7% 8.9% 6.7% 4.5% 3 7.1% Spain 5.3% 1.8% 6.7% 4.5% 3 10.7% Portugal 0 0 6.7% 0 0 3.6% France 5.3% 0 0 0 3 0 Other 0 0 0 0 0 7.1% None 2.5% 4.5% 0 27.4% 6.2% 0 Males Females All Italy 39.7% 48.6% 44.2% England 33.8% 35.6% 34.7% Germany 4.1% 3.6% 3.9% Spain 3.5% 3% 3.3% Portugal 3.5% 0.4 1.9% France 2.2% 1.3% 1.9% Other 4.1% 1.6% 2.9% None 9.1% 6% 7.3% Football support, according to gender Football support, according to age 13-17 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75+ Italy 45% 48.6% 60.4% 56.4% 42.4% 35% 39.3% 42.2% England 18.3% 38.2% 23% 27.8% 37.1% 45.5% 43.2% 40.8% Germany 10% 2.6% 3.3% 2% 8.9% 5.2% 2.1% 4.2% Spain 18.3% 5.3% 3.3% 2% 5.4% 1% 0 2.8% Portugal 0 0 2.9% 2% 0 1% 1% 0 France 0 0 2.1% 2% 1.8% 0 1% 0 Other 8.3% 5.3% 5% 0 0 0 0 2.8% None 0 0 0 7.8% 4.4% 12.3% 13.4% 7.2% Football support, according to status