Matthew McConaughey to star in female football team film

Matthew McConaughey is to star in a new film about a women's football team.

The actor is to lead the cast of 'Dallas Sting' playing coach Bill Kinder who helps form America's first national female football squad in 1984 from a group of Texan teenagers who headed to China to take on some of the world's top teams.

The movie has been written by Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch - the creative team behind hit women's wrestling drama 'GLOW' - and focuses on the last minute search to put together the team after President Ronald Reagan's effort to improve relations with China led to the country inviting the US to compete in the first world championship for women's football.

With no US national team in existence, scouts turned to an under-19s league of Dallas high school girls who called themselves The Sting after the movie of the same name.

The film is slated to go into production later this year and start shooting in New Orleans, Louisiana in the Autumn.

'Dallas Sting' will be directed by Kari Skogland, who previously helmed 'The Falcon and the Winter Soldier'.

Matthew has previously appeared in sports betting drama ' Two for the Money' with Al Pacino in 2005 as well as 'We Are Marshall' in 2006 which told the story of an American football team involved in a devastating plane crash in 1970.

The actor has been mostly absent from the big screen over the last few years and last appeared in 2021 animated drama 'Sing 2' as well as providing a voice for short film 'Come Home'.