Isle of Man FA men’s representative team manager Chris Bass Jr has named a 36-strong training squad ahead of a series of friendlies this summer.

The squad, which includes 17 that have played for FC Isle of Man this term, blends experienced senior players with some promising young talent.

Bass Jr said: ‘Choosing a 36 man training squad is very deliberate.

‘The island’s talent pool is strong and we want to give every player who is performing the opportunity to train together and be part of the national team.

‘The numbers give real competition for places, let us assess different systems and manages training load.’

The Isle of Man will face Liverpool County Premier League side Halewood Apollo on Saturday, May 2, kicking off at 5pm at the Bowl.

This will be followed by a triangular tournament here in the island in July.

Bass Jr added: ‘July will be a crucial month, with fixtures giving us the chance to experiment tactically and see how players respond to tournament football.’

Bass, along with his management team of Matthew Woods and Rick Holden, are keeping one eye firmly on a three-year Island Games strategy ahead of the home games here in 2029: ‘We have the Faroe Islands 2027 to prepare for and then the Isle of Man-hosted Games in 2029 where our ambition is to win the gold medal on home soil.’

Squad: Harry Best, Mark Blair, Tomas Brown, Jamie Cadwallader, Josh Cain, James Callow, Jamie Callister, Jason Charmer, Connor Clark, Karl Clark, Beren Colley, Tom Creer, Jacob Crook, Owen Dawson, Sean Doyle, Lee Gale, Sammy Gelling, Danny Gerrard, Ethan Hawley, Charlie Higgins, Tyler Hughes, Shaun Kelly, Ethan Leivers, Adam Killey, Al Maitland, Joao Marques, Finn O'Donaghue, Dean Pinnington, Ryan Quigley, Calum Sherry, Daniel Simpson, Ben Sturgeon, Kyle Watson, Ben Wilkinson, Mikey Williams and Ste Whitley.