JUST over a week ago, Asif Vali and his wife Karen did what no parents should ever have to do when they said goodbye to their 15-year-old son, Zak.

The football-mad teenager died following a year-long battle with Ewing's sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer.

Now, boxing promoter Asif has paid tribute to his “bubbly, smiling” son and announced plans to set up a foundation in his name.

“We are all still devastated,” he said.

“When your child has cancer it is the hardest thing you could ever imagine, and since he passed we are still taking it every day at a time — we have to.

He added: “Zak was a smiling and bubbly boy who loved sport — all he talked about was football and boxing.”

The family discovered Zak was ill after he was hurt during a football match last summer.

Asif said: “He hurt his ribs in a tackle and his mum took him to hospital. They said there was a pimple but that it was just bruising.

“But it grew to the size of a 1p coin, then a 50p and then half a tennis ball, and the doctors kept batting us away. But as a mum, Karen knew it was something serious, so she put her foot down and got an MRI and CT scan.”

The scan confirmed the worst for the Vali family, that Zak had a rare form of cancer, Ewing’s sarcoma, and he was admitted on to a ward at Manchester Children’s Hospital.

Asif said: “We read up on it and even though we found out that survival rates were pretty low, we still felt we had a chance at making Zak better.”

As the youngster’s condition started to deteriorate, the family made a decision to make every precious moment they had left extra special.

“Every cuddle, every kiss and every conversation was important. Even when he started getting weak, he still had that smile on his face — he was such a strong character,” Asif said.

“He asked me a few times if he was dying; you don’t want your child to ever say that to you, the only answer I could say was no, I had to lie to him.”

A football and boxing fanatic, one of Zak’s favourite moments was when he met his favourite footballer Steven Gerrard on the pitch at the Macron before last season’s FA Cup replay between Bolton Wanderers and Liverpool.

The Rivington and Blackrod school pupil was also sent signed boxing gloves from stars such as David Haye and Tyson Fury, who all wanted to support the brave young man.

Asif said: “We had so much support throughout that time. My friends Asif Patel and Peter Fury and Denis Hobson from the boxing world were amazing. They used to come round and help us have family time with barbecues and birthday celebrations — we embraced every opportunity to give Zak a nice time and those memories will always be with us.”

Zak’s love of sport was so strong that only four days before he died, he summoned the strength to attend a special Tyson Fury boxing event organised in his honour.

His dad, who gave a speech that evening, recalled: “I spoke in front of 900 people and I knew at that point I had just brought my son home to die — but I couldn’t say that.

“It was amazing that he made it to that event, it was his final effort. After that he deteriorated and by Friday he was really poorly, he gave me and his mum the biggest hugs ever and we knew that was his last 'goodbye'.”

On Saturday, the teenager passed away in his mother’s arms, surrounded by his family, including his three brothers and his sister.

Asif said: “He whispered to his mum 'it’s just me and you mum' and slowly passed away. If there is any comfort in this, it is that he passed very peacefully, in his own home, with his family around him and in Islam’s holiest month.”

Tributes have poured in for Zak from all over the world, including from sports stars and celebrities, and the family have been inundated with cards and gifts.

One particularly moving gesture came courtesy of Zak’s former teammates at his beloved Oxford Grove Junior Football Club, which he played for from the age of six, under the management of his dad.

Asif said: “After he passed, I cancelled training on Wednesday and suggested a few of the lads met me at his grave at Overdale and shared some memories. I was amazed when about 70 kids turned up.”

The Vali family are determined to let Zak’s legacy live on and plans are now afoot to launch the Zak Vali Foundation, which will raise money for families who have lost children, to help with added costs such as funerals and for money lost if parents are forced to give up jobs to care for their kids.

Asif said: “I was in the fortunate position that my strong family were able to help look after the businesses that I have when Zak was ill, because it is a full-time job.

“But if both parents have to come out of work, it will ruin them financially. So this foundation is about the after-events, like funeral costs — people shouldn’t have to worry about that, I think Zak would like that idea.”

He added: “I am fortunate that I have a very strong wife who has been truly amazing and very close family and friends who have supported us every step of the way.”

He said among a raft of precious memories he has of Zak, there is one image that will always stand out: “It is that smile he had — that says it all.”