Football legends match raises £20k for charity
Getty ImagesMore than £20,000 has been raised over a charity weekend which marked what would have been the 50th birthday of a footballer who died from motor neurone disease (MND).
Tony Hopper spent 10 years with his hometown side Carlisle United and had spells with Barrow and Workington, but the Cumbrian football stalwart died in 2018 having been diagnosed with MND a year earlier.
A charity game at Penrith's Frenchfield Park on Sunday saw former players from Carlisle United take on a team of ex-Workington and Penrith players in a "legends" match in aid of the MND Association and Eden Valley Hospice.
Hopper's former teammate Mark Boyd played in the tie and said the turnout was "phenomenal".
Speaking to BBC Radio Cumbria's Total Sport, Boyd said he could not thank people enough for the support.
"It's just about the lad he was," he said.
"It's eight years, it was his 50th and for the turnout over the both days it was just absolutely phenomenal, but you don't expect anything less for Tony."
'Massively missed'
A charity ball was held on Saturday which also contributed to the fundraising total.
Organised by his widow Sue, the money raised from the game and associated events will go towards the MND Association and Eden Valley Hospice.
Ahead of the weekend, she said events such as these keep Tony's memory alive for their sons.
"I want them to remember him, I want them to talk about him because he's not here but he's still part of their lives so significantly," she said.
On Monday, Boyd said of the late Cumbrian football legend: "Even eight years on he's still massively missed."
As for the match itself, the Penrith/Workington team raced into a three-goal half-time lead.
But, as the Workington Reds website reported, Tony's youngest son Jack emerged the hero by netting a hat-trick for Carlisle which saw honours shared in a 5-5 draw.
