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“I was ecstatic,” said Bernier, an ambassador for United 2026 who is now an assistant coach with the Impact Academy teams, working with players from the U14 to U19 level. “I was with my son and I realized that in eight years I could be going to a World Cup game with him. I can sell him the dream just like my father sold me the dream of international soccer by watching the World Cup.”

Bernier played for the Canadian national team but his dream of playing in the World Cup never came true. He’s hoping that dream can come true for young Canadian players who now have eight years to build toward 2026.

“It’s a great day for them,” Bernier said about his Impact Academy players. “Now they have an academy that allows them to dream of becoming a professional, step by step. And now in eight years, if you do things well and you play for the Montreal Impact you could also be on the national team and you could be training at home and playing at home on the world stage.

“The World Cup is the biggest stage,” Bernier added. “It’s the biggest event for a single sport. After that it’s the (summer) Olympics, which is several sports. Everybody watches the World Cup. Billions of people watch it and the world stops to watch soccer. So in 2026, the world will be in Montreal and Canada watching, and all eyes will be on us.”

This really is a Bloody Big Deal.

scowan@postmedia.com

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