American Pharaoh

Sunday, June 22, 2014 at 4 p.m. & Tuesday, July 1, 2013 at 11 p.m. on KPBS TV

"American Pharaoh," goes behind the scenes with the Egyptian national soccer team — the “Pharaohs” — and its former coach, American Bob Bradley, to capture their historic attempt to reach the 2014 World Cup, which created intense national pride and sparked headlines across the globe.

Scheduled to premiere during the FIFA World Cup in Brazil, the film by Egyptian filmmaker Hossam Aboul-Magd follows the team’s efforts to qualify for soccer’s ultimate event for the first time in more than 20 years. The program also illustrates the relationship in Egypt between soccer, the revolution and political activism. In production for more than two years, the film sets the soccer team’s challenge to succeed against the backdrop of the ongoing turmoil in Egypt.

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Bob Bradley leading the Egyptian national team training session before the team’s final 2014 World Cup Playoffs game against Ghana in Cairo, Egypt.

Courtesy of Hossam Aboul-Magd

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Bob Bradley, manager of the Egyptian national team, touring Cairo Stadium. Due to security reasons, Bradley and the team never played a game at the team’s home stadium.

Courtesy of Hossam Aboul-Magd

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Egyptian security forces at June 30 Stadium, hours before the final 2014 World Cup Playoffs game between Egypt and Ghana in Cairo, Egypt.

Courtesy of Hossam Aboul-Magd

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Egyptian soccer fans at June 30 Stadium, hours before the final 2014 World Cup Playoffs game between Egypt and Ghana in Cairo, Egypt. It was the first time fans were allowed to attend the Egyptian national team games since the Portsaid Massacre on February 1, 2012.

Courtesy of Hossam Aboul-Magd

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Egyptian soccer fans at June 30 Stadium, during the final 2014 World Cup Playoffs game between Egypt and Ghana in Cairo, Egypt. It was the first time fans were allowed to attend the Egyptian national team games since the Portsaid Massacre on February 1st, 2012.

Courtesy of Hossam Aboul-Magd

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Bob Bradley, Manager of the Egyptian national team, standing in front of graffiti honoring martyrs of the Egyptian revolution in Tahrir Square.

Courtesy of Hossam Aboul-Magd

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Bob Bradley, Manager of the Egyptian National Team, at Giza Pyramids.

Courtesy of Hossam Aboul-Magd

Bradley and the Pharaohs’ run for a World Cup berth was punctuated by obstacles — a popular revolution, military takeover, protests, a fatal and tragic riot and political strife — and it ended with a dream-crushing loss to the strongest team in the region, Ghana. However, through their hard push for World Cup qualifications, Bradley and his team won a string of stirring victories that transcended the playing field.

After a successful run as coach of the U.S. men’s national soccer team, reaching the second round in the 2010 World Cup, Bradley signed on to coach the Egyptian team in September 2011. Faced with ongoing violence and political upheaval within the country, the Pharaohs were the only team in the world to win every qualification game prior to a 6-1 regional loss to Ghana in October 2013. Bradley is now the manager of the Norwegian club Stabaek.

"American Pharaoh" follows Bradley — recently elected to the National Soccer Hall of Fame — his wife, Lindsay, his staff and players. In gaining access to the training camps and providing in-depth coverage of the Pharaohs’ games in Africa, the filmmaker documents the team’s personal and professional struggles to keep their eyes on the prize of reaching the World Cup while living in and representing a country in turmoil.

Award-winning filmmaker Hossam Aboul-Magd, an avid Egyptian soccer fan born and raised in Cairo, has made films for PBS, National Geographic, Discovery Channel, History Channel, BBC, ABC, CNN, NHK and Al- Jazeera.

The film is available on DVD at ShopPBS.org