Michael Mayne has made a bold statement by excluding big names from his first Football Ferns squad.

The interim head coach left out a trio of veteran defenders – 113-capped Katie Bowen, CJ Bott (50) and Rebekah Stott (106) – from the 23-strong team to play Costa Rica in two friendlies this month.

Mayne, who is gunning for the full-time role after being the interim coach since May last year, told the Herald: “There’s a window of opportunity here for us to get some new ideas.

“With those three players as well as the other players that also haven’t been selected, as you can imagine, everybody wanted to be part of this new cycle. For me, going into this tour, there’s a window of opportunity here ... for me to have a good look at some new players when it’s early in the piece.

“I think it just comes back to what we’re trying to achieve towards 2027, and that’s really understanding where the strengths lie in the squad long term.”

The controversial call comes after Bowen’s stand-out past 18 months for the Ferns earned her a contract with Inter Milan in the Italian Serie A. She also wore the armband at the Paris Olympics.

CJ Bott in action for the Football Ferns. Photo / Michael Craig

Bott was nominated in December for a Fifa Best award as one of the world’s top defenders, while Stott captained Melbourne City to the A-League Premiership title last season.

Mayne said he’s “well across” what these players have achieved outside the national team setup at their clubs.

“They’re players that have been around this team for many years. They’ve got a great deal of caps.

“For me, this tour, it’s a chance to get some new ideas, understand where the strengths lie in the squad going forward and start to build some competition in the team as well for the future.”

Mayne has named three debutantes in the squad: Perth Glory forward Kelli Brown, Melbourne Victory goalkeeper Geo Candy and FFC Turbine Potsdam midfielder Maya Hahn, alongside Wellington Phoenix’s Manaia Elliott and Feyenoord’s Emma Pijnenburg who are also uncapped.

Twelve players from the 2024 Paris Olympic squad have been retained. Annalie Longo, a 136-capped Fern, returns after a standout season as Phoenix skipper.

Mayne’s omission of senior players comes a week after he told the Herald he wouldn’t enforce a changing of the guard when it comes to the veteran players within the group.

“We need the best players in the system. I don’t think my role initially is anything to do about changing the guard – it’s just we need to understand who the players are that come in and fight for each position and that is, in turn, the standard on the training pitch and hopefully the results.”

Malia Steinmetz, Anna Leat and Ali Riley were all unavailable for selection due to injury, while forwards Gabi Rennie and Ava Collins and defender Ally Green were not selected.

The Football Ferns play Costa Rica on February 23 and February 26.

23-player Football Ferns squad:

Liz Anton (19 caps) Canberra United, Australia

Mackenzie Barry (20 caps) Wellington Phoenix, Aotearoa New Zealand

Hannah Blake (6 caps) Durham FC, England

Claudia Bunge (31 caps) Melbourne Victory, Australia

Kelli Brown (debut) Perth Glory, Australia

Geo Candy (debut) Melbourne Victory

Milly Clegg (12 caps) Halifax Tides FC, Canada

Brianna Edwards (1 cap) Sydney FC, Australia

Manaia Elliott (0 caps) Wellington Phoenix

Victoria Esson (24 caps) Rangers FC, Scotland

Michaela Foster (22 caps) Durham FC

Macey Fraser (6 caps) Utah Royals, USA

Maya Hahn (debut) FFC Turbine Potsdam, Germany

Jacqui Hand (31 caps) Sheffield United, England

Grace Jale (34 caps) Wellington Phoenix

Katie Kitching (14 caps) Sunderland AFC, England

Annalie Longo (136 caps) Wellington Phoenix

Meikayla Moore (67 caps) Calgary Wild FC, Canada

Ruby Nathan (5 caps) Canberra United, Australia

Grace Neville (10 caps) London City Lionesses, England

Emma Pijnenburg (0 caps) Feyenoord Rotterdam, Netherlands

Indiah-Paige Riley (27 caps) Crystal Palace, England

Kate Taylor (21 caps) Dijon FCO, France

Bonnie Jansen is a multimedia journalist in the NZME sports team. She’s a football commentator and co-host of the Football Fever podcast, and was part of the Te Rito cadetship scheme before becoming a full-time journalist.