Town keeper Henry Gray has been named as an alternate for the New Zealand squad taking part in the Paris Olympics which get under way later this month.
The 16 nations taking part in the football tournament will be taking 18-strong squads - 15 U23s plus three overage players - augmented by four travelling alternates.
In a rule change, the alternates can be called into a matchday squad at six hours’ notice to take over from a player who has picked up an injury. The previously injured player can come back for subsequent games if they’ve returned to fitness.
If he does play a part, Gray, who is effectively the third-choice keeper, would become the first Town player to feature at an Olympics since fellow Kiwi Tommy Smith represented the Olywhites at London 2012.
New Zealand are grouped with the hosts, the USA and Guinea with their games played in Nice and Marseille.
Gray joined the Blues last summer from New Zealand Central League side Waterside Karori following a trial at the end of the previous campaign. He was previously with A-League club Wellington Phoenix’s reserves.
The Mönchengladbach-born 19-year-old, who has won New Zealand caps at U20 level and trained with the senior squad in October last year, spent a successful spell on loan with Chelmsford City during 2023/24 and trained with the Town first team.
New Zealand squad: Alex Paulsen - AFC Bournemouth, Kees Sims - GAIS Göteborg, Tyler Bindon - Reading, Michael Boxall* - Minnesota United, Lukas Kelly-Heald - Wellington Phoenix, Matthew Sheridan - Wellington Phoenix, inn Surman - Wellington Phoenix, Sam Sutton - Wellington Phoenix, Joe Bell - Viking FK, Fin Conchie - Wellington Phoenix, Matt Garbett - NAC Breda, Ben Old - AS Saint-Etienne, Sarpreet Singh - Unattached, Riley Bidois - Loudoun United, Jay Herdman - Vancouver Whitecaps, Jesse Randall - Auckland FC, Oskar van Hattum - Wellington Phoenix, Ben Waine - Plymouth Argyle. Alternate Players: Lachlan Bayliss - Newcastle Jets, Liam Gillion - Auckland FC, Henry Gray - Ipswich Town, Isaac Hughes - Wellington Phoenix.