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SYDNEY — Two local athletes will team up to represent Canada on the international stage next week in Chicago.

Special Olympian Jeremy Gallant of Whitney Pier and Cyril MacDonald of North Sydney, regional co-ordinator for Special Olympics in Cape Breton, are the only Nova Scotians selected to play for Canada at the inaugural Unified Cup international soccer tournament. After a brief training session for the Canadian squad in Toronto, they’ll head to the Windy City for the event that runs July 17-20.

The tournament includes 24 teams from across the world. It features athletes both with and without intellectual disabilities as teammates to promote acceptance and inclusion through sport.

The event is being held in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of Special Olympics. The first Special Olympics Summer Games were held in Chicago in 1968.

Gallant has been a member of Special Olympics Cape Breton for the past three years and plays soccer, floor hockey, curling and skating. But soccer has been a mainstay since he was young, and next week’s tournament will be his World Cup.

“It feels amazing, I still can’t believe it,” said the 25-year-old, who works maintenance at the Horizon Achievement Centre.

“Just getting to meet different people from different countries.”

MacDonald said he was contacted by Special Olympics Nova Scotia looking for athletes to take part in the event. They applied and were chosen as the only athletes east of Quebec for the squad.

He said Gallant is a great athlete who works hard and is always pushing to be better.

“(Gallant) is a great teammate, a good sport,” said MacDonald. “He’s someone that everybody wants to have on their team. He’s always positive and upbeat.

“He’s just a great guy to have around, a great athlete and a good asset to the team.”

Gallant is excited to team up with MacDonald on the pitch.

“It’s great. He always has jokes and makes everybody laugh all the time,” he said. “It’s a wonderful experience to be sharing it with him.”

If all goes to plan for Team Canada and they reach the championship game, it will be broadcast live on ESPN2 in the United States on July 20 at 7 p.m. Atlantic time.

2018 Unified Cup

Where: Chicago, Ill.

When: July 17-20

Sport: Soccer

Teams: 24

Who: Athletes both with and without intellectual disabilities as teammates

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