Will Ferrell to Play Chuck Blazer in HBO Movie on FIFA Scandal

One of Will Ferrell's upcoming roles will apparently be that of disgraced ex-FIFA and Concacaf executive Chuck Blazer.

One of Will Ferrell's upcoming roles will apparently be that of disgraced ex-FIFA and Concacaf executive Chuck Blazer.

According to Deadline, Leslye Headland will direct an upcoming HBO Films picture based on the book American Huckster: How Chuck Blazer Got Rich from-and Sold Out-the Most Powerful Cabal in World Sportsby Mary Papenfuss and Teri Thompson.

American Huckster was released in April 2016, and the story is based on the FIFA scandal in which the FBI investigated global soccer's governing body, uncovering layers of corruption involving dozens of individuals.

Ferrell was recruited to star in the film as Blazer, a Queens, N.Y., native who held various roles within U.S. Soccer and Concacaf before making his way to the FIFA Executive Committee and was embroiled in large amounts of corruption before becoming an informant for the FBI. He died of cancer in 2017.

The soccer world is nothing new to Ferrell, who is one of the minority owners of MLS club Los Angeles FC. He also starred in the 2005 movie Kicking and Screaming as a youth coach.

Headland has gained recent critcal acclaim for Netflix's Russian Doll, which she created and directed. Adam McKay's Gary Sanchez and Lucy Fisher's Red Wagon will also hold executive production roles with the film.