Everton will welcome members of Bradley Lowery’s family as special guests on Sunday when Sunderland visit Hill Dickinson Stadium for the final home fixture of the season, on a day that would have been the young fan’s 15th birthday. Supporters from both clubs will mark the occasion with a banner in his honour that will stretch from the upper tier of the North West corner down into the lower section housing visiting fans.

The tribute adds another chapter to a bond between the clubs that was built around a boy who became a symbol of hope through his fight against Stage 4 high-risk neuroblastoma. Bradley appeared as Sunderland’s mascot against Everton at the Stadium of Light in September 2016, and after that match Bill Kenwright made a £200,000 donation to help support his treatment. He later returned for the reverse fixture at Goodison Park in January 2017, where Romelu Lukaku carried him onto the pitch in his Sunderland kit.

On Sunday, the occasion will be shared not only by the two sets of supporters but also by Bradley’s family, who have continued to see his name carried by both clubs in different ways. In September, during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, the Bradley Lowery Foundation provided the mascots for Everton’s fixture with West Ham United, underlining how the tribute has grown beyond one match and one moment.

Gemma Lowery said being back at the stadium and seeing both sets of fans come together to remember Bradley on what would have been his 15th birthday weekend was emotional, but also a proud moment for the family. She said Everton and Sunderland had both been amazing, adding that their support when Bradley was alive, and their effort to continue his legacy, had been incredible. She also said the awareness raised by the clubs had been important because it got people talking about childhood cancer and encouraged fundraising that helps other families.

That wider purpose will again be part of the day’s work. Everton will also support Children With Cancer UK’s Too Big campaign during the matchday, with 11-year-old Kaiden Edwards walking out of the tunnel before kick-off wearing an oversized shirt marked 2 BIG. Kaiden began treatment in 2021 after being diagnosed with medulloblastoma, and after major surgery, proton beam therapy and chemotherapy, he relapsed in 2024 and continues to receive treatment.

The match brings together remembrance and action in a way few fixtures do. Bradley’s story still carries weight because it connects memory to fundraising, awareness and practical support, and the Bradley Lowery Foundation has used that platform to help families raise money for treatment and equipment not readily available through the NHS, while also funding research into neuroblastoma and other childhood cancers.

Sunday’s tribute shows that the legacy attached to Bradley’s name has not faded with time. It has become something both clubs, and their supporters, still choose to carry together.