FOOTNOTES : Soccer Arouses Italian Passion

Italian men’s passion for the World Cup is shared by more than 10 million Italian women, and most of the country’s children are being allowed to stay up late to watch games, according to television ratings issued today.

Viewing figures released by the state television network RAI showed nearly 83% of children aged 4 to 14 watched Italy beat Czechoslovakia on Wednesday. The game ended just before 11 p.m. local time.

More than 70% of women viewers, or 10.5 million, tuned in to the game, which took third place in the World Cup ratings after Italy’s previous group A games against the United States and Austria.

About 25.3 million people, 78% of viewers, watched the Italy-Czechoslovakia match.