Bradley, from County Durham, UK, passed away in July aged just six from neuroblastoma, an incurable form of cancer. A fan of his local football team Sunderland, the youngster had established a close and notable friendship with former striker Jermain Defoe in the months leading up to his death.

READ MORE: Brave football fan Bradley Lowery dies aged 6

At the awards ceremony on Sunday, Bradley’s tearful mother and father – Gemma and Carl – accepted the Helen Rollason Award on their late son’s behalf. The honor is presented for 'outstanding achievement in the face of adversity'.

An “overwhelmed but honored” Gemma informed the crowd that the Bradley Lowery Foundation would continue the fundraising for cancer research started by her son during his life. She underlined the cause will support those raising funds and dispense grants as well as a separate fund to build a home for sick children.

“We cannot explain how much this means to us and how much we appreciate everybody’s support as we’ve dealt with this horrendous heartache – it’s what gets us out of bed in the morning,” Gemma said, speaking to Press Association Sport.

“We originally thought we would limit [the home] to cancer but we got money and support from all parts of the country and from all cultures, so we don’t want to limit it – we want it to be open [to] all under-18s with a serious illness.

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“We want our grants to be incentives – if you raise £10,000 [US$13,400], we’ll give you £10,000 – but we also want to share our experiences. When we started, we didn’t know anything about fund-raising or social media.”

In December 2016, Bradley scored a goal from the penalty spot at half time in a match against Chelsea, which was later official recognized as the English Premier League ‘Goal of the Month.’

Charity fundraisers were also organised for the young fan, who was from County Durham, UK. Fans raised £700,000 (US$870,000) for him to receive treatment and regularly sing “There’s only one Bradley Lowery” on the terraces in his honor.

The Sports Personality of the Year Awards are held annually by the BBC to honor the feats of British athletes. Striker Defoe was unable to attend the ceremony, as it clashed with a game for his new club Bournemouth.

During his stint at Sunderland from 2015 to 2017, Defoe became close to Bradley and struck up a touching relationship that began when the two first met at the club’s Stadium of Light before a Premier League match with Everton.

A tearful Defoe, who called the youngster ‘Brads’, broke down in tears on the day the young fan passed away. Many viewers thought the player deserved himself to win the main Sports Personality of the Year award, which eventually was presented to runner Mo Farah.