President Chinchilla gives public employees a half-day Friday to boost attendance at the Under-17 Women’s World Cup championship

President Laura Chinchilla declared that Friday would be a holiday for public employees as long as they spend their day off watching some World Cup action. The president made the decree so more Ticos can attend the final and third-place game of the Under-17 Women’s World Cup at the National Stadium in west San José.

Public employees who take the half-day off must prove to their workplace that they bought a ticket.

The holiday begins at noon. Italy plays Venezuela in the third-place match at 2 p.m. The final will between Japan and Spain starts at 5 p.m.

By midday Thursday, several thousand tickets remained available for the match at the 35,000-seat National Stadium. Tickets can be purchased through FIFA’s website, and the cheapest ones cost approximately $6.