West Ham United may have narrowly lost the second annual Bobby Moore Cup on Saturday but those fans that were at the Boleyn Ground should not feel too deflated after helping to raise vital funds for the Bobby Moore Fund for Cancer Research.
Bobby's widow Stephanie Moore MBE was a guest of honour for the game against Serie A side SCC Napoli and took great pleasure in seeing the 21,364 fans create a cauldron of noise before kick-off. More importantly perhaps, though, £1 from every ticket sold was donated directly to the Fund and that figure will be matched by the club.
"It wasn't all about the result," Stephanie said. "It was a game in memory of Bobby, the Bobby Moore Cup, and it benefitted the Bobby Moore Fund for Cancer Research UK. There's a tremendous turn out of over 21,000. It just shows how much the fans support Bobby, the charity and of course West Ham.
"I would like to say a massive thank-you to them. Every penny is very important and I'm very grateful, especially as it is being done in Bobby's memory. All of the money raised will be spent on bowel cancer research, the disease that Bobby died from."
Stephanie was joined on the pitch by Sir Trevor Brooking before kick-off and she felt it fitting that the stand bearing his name was opened on the same day as the Bobby Moore Cup.
"To see the stand opened in Sir Trevor's name was lovely and very fitting that it should be opposite the Bobby Moore Stand. They were great friends and played together as well so it's lovely to see that.
"It's a marvellous start to the season, it's just a shame about the result. It was a lovely game and it was great to see Napoli here."
The Bobby Moore Cup match not only kicked off West Ham United's home game campaign for the 2009/10 season, but also another year-long drive to raise funds for the charity set up in the name of the West Ham United and England legend.
"For the season ahead, we've got another abseil at the Boleyn Ground, I took part in the last one. It was a little frightening but I really enjoyed doing it," Stephanie said.
"We've then got the international projects as well. One going off to Brazil in September and then another one in March where we go off to rebuild schools in remote areas with all of the money raised through sponsorship staying with Cancer Research UK."
To see more on where the money raised is being spent and more information on the fund, visit www.bobbymoorefund.org