Buoyed by the surprise success of their team in the World Cup and David Beckham’s state-side dominance (helping to gain further exposure of the beautiful game), it looks like Hollywood are making their own football (sorry, soccer) film starring another British ex-pat, Gerard Butler.

The Los Angeles Times are reporting that Slide, originally conceived as a little league baseball film, has roused the interest of Italian filmmaker Gabriele Muccino (The Pursuit of Happyness), and he is set to direct this comedy about an absentee father who decides to coach his son’s team, only to draw the unwanted attention of all the soccer moms.

We’ll keep you posted on the progress of this and whether our friends from across the pond have fully figured out the offside rule yet.