IT was a great opportunity for a superb piece of PR - an open goal, if you want - but football clubs up and down the country failed to take it.

The inspirational figure of Franny Benali spent a fortnight running and cycling around 100 miles every day in a bid to raise money for Cancer Research.

For the second time in three years, the former Saints star put his body through hell to encourage the general public to donate to a worthwhile charity.

No doubt the general public, certainly those in and around the city of Southampton who either know Benali or know of him, will do what they can to support.

So far, he has raised around £100,000 from what has become known as Benali’s Big Race.

His first charity challenge - running between all the Premier League grounds in September 2014 - brought in around £250,000.

They are big sums, certainly.

But there is a limit, though, as to how much the public can do, how much they can raise.

It was nice to see a whole host of footballing stars - past and present - come out to meet Benali on his punishing journey around the 44 Premier League and Championship grounds.

The likes of Wayne Rooney, Teddy Sheringham, Aaron Ramsey and Adam Lallana all lined up to give their support to Benali for his superhuman efforts.

Inevitably, there have been calls on social media for the footballers to support Benali with four-figure donations from their own large bank balances to Cancer Research.

You can see why. After all, Premier League footballers are among the richest sporting stars in the world.

If any group can spare a few thousand pounds for a great cause - and to reward Benali for putting his health in danger - then it’s this lot.

In fairness, however, someone like Rooney might already make regular donations to charity. He might, for all we know, not want them to be made public. In that respect, modern-day footballers are easy targets.

But the clubs? That’s a different matter entirely.

Saints announced on Sunday afternoon, as Benali entered St Mary’s to a hero’s reception, that they have donated £25,000 to Cancer Research UK “thanks to contributions from players, staff, Saints Foundation and Southampton FC”.

Now, we can debate for hours whether a Premier League club’s playing squad and staff should be able to raise more than £25,000 - especially for someone, like Benali, who is “one of our own” ...

... but the clubs?

I repeat - that’s a different matter entirely.

It would be easy for Saints fans to say their club should have donated more to Cancer Research on the back of Benali’s herculean sporting achievement.

After all, they pay some of their players considerably more than £25,000 a week - and Benali has run more miles in October than any of Claude Puel’s first teamers.

And after all, they banked around £750,000 from Sky TV just for having Sunday’s game against Burnley screened live on satellite television.

How lovely it would have been if that fee was given to Cancer Research. Think of the positive PR, the goodwill generated.

I’m not criticising Southampton FC, though.

At least they have donated £25,000, and that’s £25,000 better than nothing.

It’s also £25,000 more than the other clubs SuperFran had ran and cycled to have donated.

If the other 43 clubs Benali had visited on his journey followed Saints’ example, that would be £1.1m for Cancer Research.

One point one million pounds, and oodles of positive publicity.

Benali said at the outset that he was aiming to raise £1m, and £25,000 each from 44 rich football clubs would see him smash his target.

Just think - £50,000 each would be £2.2m!

On the day Benali visited Stamford Bridge last week, Chelsea announced a new shirt sponsorship deal potentially worth £900m.

Those are the sort of sums that the top Premier League clubs now deal in.

They are obscene sums to the average football fan, the working man and the working woman.

Surely some clubs can find a tiny fraction of that figure to boost Benali’s fund-raising target?

In this day and age, when football’s great name has recently been tarnished with national newspaper reports of possible corruption leading to the England manager losing his job ....

In this day and age, when as a result of those corruption stories it is easy to look at Premier League players and officials as people divorced from the financial reality of the people who pay their wages ...

Here was a chance, a really great chance, for all the Premier League clubs to get behind Francis Benali and show the nation that they do have a conscience.

I know, I know ... football clubs probably deal with hundreds, thousands, of sponsorship requests every week.

They probably do what they can to help.

They are not sporting philanthropists, handing out cash sums to all good causes on a daily basis, they are well-run companies.

But still ... here was a former professional - lest we forget, one of their own - completing a barely believable 100 miles a day, on his feet and on a bike, for charity.

Here he was, visiting all of them, come rain or shine.

You can’t help but think if it was a former Manchester United or Liverpool player who was undertaking the same route as Benali, the national media would have found more air-time, more column inches, to promote it.

Earlier this season, Everton FC donated £200,000 to the family of a five-year-old Sunderland supporter fighting cancer.

It was a wonderful gesture.

I’m not saying all top flight clubs should instantly write Benali a series of similar-sized cheques - though they could certainly afford to - because once you start where do you stop?

But Francis Benali, I’m sure you will agree, is different to most.

He put himself and his body through more punishment than most fund-raisers would be able to do.

Would want to do.

As a result, he deserves a bit more of a helping hand from the clubs whose stadiums he once played in.

Text FRAN to 70200 to donate £5. Alternatively, visit benalisbigrace.com