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The '''Premier Cup''' was a one-off football tournament held to mark the coronation of [[Alexandra of the United Kingdom and of the Netherlands|Queen Alexandra]] on 1 August 2019. Contested between eight {{wp|English}} football clubs, the tournament lasted for over five weeks, beginning from 18 May 2019 to 15 June 2019.  
The '''Premier Cup''' was a one-off football tournament held by the {{wp|United Kingdom}}'s football associations to mark the coronation of [[Alexandra, Queen of the British|Queen Alexandra]] on 1 August 2019. Contested between sixteen football clubs, the tournament lasted for four weeks, beginning on 18 May 2019 and ending on 30 May 2019.  


Initially envisioned to include {{wp|Scottish}} clubs of the {{wp|Scottish Premiership}} as well, the tournament ultimately came to include eight {{wp|Premier League}} clubs, namely:
Consisting of a total of sixteen clubs, in alphabetical order, the teams that competed in the tournament were:
* {{wp|Manchester City}}: 2017-18 {{wp|Premier League}} champions
* {{wp|Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal}}
* {{wp|Manchester United}}: 2017-18 {{wp|Premier League}} runner-up
* {{wp|Bohemian F.C.|Bohemian}}
* {{wp|Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea}}: 2017-18 {{wp|FA Cup}} champions
* {{wp|Cardiff City F.C.|Cardiff City}}
* {{wp|Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal}}: 2018-19 {{wp|UEFA Europa League}} runner-up
* {{wp|Celtic F.C.|Celtic}}
* {{wp|Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool}}: 2018-19 {{wp|UEFA Champions League}} champions
* {{wp|Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea}}
* {{wp|THFC|Tottenham Hotspur}}: 2018-19 {{wp|UEFA Champions League}} runner-up
* {{wp|Dundalk F.C.|Dundalk}}
* {{wp|Burnley F.C.|Burnley}}: 2018-19 {{wp|UEFA Europa League}} qualifiers
* {{wp|Hamburger SV}}
* {{wp|Wolverhampton Wanderers}}: 2019-20 {{wp|UEFA Europa League}} qualifiers
* {{wp|Hannover 96}}
* {{wp|Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool}}
* {{wp|Manchester City}}
* {{wp|Manchester United}}
* {{wp|Rangers F.C.|Rangers}}
* {{wp|SV Werder Bremen}}
* {{wp|Shamrock Rovers F.C.|Shamrock Rovers}}
* {{wp|Swansea City A.F.C.|Swansea City}}
* {{wp|THFC|Tottenham Hotspur}}


In total, the tournament consists of four stages, namely the quarter-finals, semi-finals, finals, and the third-place playoffs, all of which, barring the latter two, are two-legged occasions played at both home and away. Meanwhile, the clubs that compete in the tournament are drawn against one another at random via a lucky draw, and their fixtures in the quarter-finals and semi-finals are played simultaneously. Similarly, both the finals and the third-place playoffs also take place at simultaneous times with the finals being held at {{wp|Wembley Stadium}} in {{wp|London}} and the third-place playoffs at the {{wp|Old Trafford}} stadium in {{wp|Manchester}}.
In total, the tournament consisted of four stages, namely the round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finals, all of which are one-legged occasions. Meanwhile, the clubs that compete in the tournament are drawn against one another at random via a televised lucky draw, and their fixtures in the round of 16, quarter-finals, and semi-finals are played simultaneously. In the aftermath of the tournament, the finals were held at {{wp|Wembley Stadium}}, {{wp|London}}.
 
Similar to most football tournaments, penalty shootouts were used to break any potential deadlocks. Meanwhile, a player who has picked up two cumulative yellow cards or a red card is declared ineligible for the next match and must therefore wait out the suspension period before being allowed to return.
 
==Venue==
Being a nationwide event, a total of fourteen stadiums across the {{wp|United Kingdom}} were used. For the round of 16 matches, the eight venues chosen were {{wp|Tottenham Hotspur Stadium}}, {{wp|Old Trafford}}, {{wp|Celtic Park}}, {{wp|Ibrox Stadium}}, {{wp|Swansea.com Stadium}}, {{wp|Windsor Park}}, {{wp|Eintracht-Stadion}}, and {{wp|Volkswagen Arena}}. Then, for the quarter-finals, the venues for the four ensuing matches were {{wp|Cardiff City Stadium}}, {{wp|Aviva Stadium}}, {{wp|Heinz-von-Heiden-Arena}}, and {{wp|London Stadium}}. Following this, for the two matches in the semi-finals, {{wp|Wembley Stadium}} and {{wp|Hampden Park}}, which houses the national football teams of {{wp|England}} and {{wp|Scotland}} respectively, were chosen as the host venues. Lastly, owing to its outsized reputation and its status as the country's biggest stadium, {{wp|Wembley Stadium}} was chosen to host the final match.


==Draw==
==Draw==
For the quarter-finals, the eight clubs competing in the tournament are randomly grouped into four groups of two via a lucky draw held on 15 May 2019. The results of the draw, which was televised live on {{wp|BBC Sport}} and {{wp|Sky Sport}}, are as follows:
For the round of 16, the clubs competing in the tournament were randomly paired against each other via a lucky draw held on 14 May 2019. The results of the draw, which was televised live on multiple channels including {{wp|BBC Sport}}, {{wp|Sky Sports}}, and {{wp|beIN Sports}}, are as follows:
* {{wp|Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal}} V {{wp|THFC|Tottenham Hotspur}}
* {{wp|Manchester United}} V {{wp|Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea}}
* {{wp|Manchester City}} V {{wp|Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool}}
* {{wp|Burnley F.C.|Burnley}} V {{wp|Wolverhampton Wanderers}}


==Quarter-finals==
* {{wp|THFC|Tottenham Hotspur}} v {{wp|Dundalk F.C.|Dundalk}}
On 18 May 2019, the first leg of the quarter-finals of the tournament took place. In this, {{wp|Tottenham Hotspur}} started off strong with a 2-0 win over {{wp|Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal}} while both {{wp|Manchester City}} and {{wp|Burnley F.C.|Burnley}} each recorded a dominant victory over their opponents, namely {{wp|Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool}} and {{wp|Wolverhampton Wanderers}}, defeating them 4-0 and 5-1 respectively. In contrast, both {{wp|Manchester United}} and {{wp|Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea}} drew 1-1 in the first leg, leaving the true winner uncertain for the second leg. Among some notable moments include a {{wp|Sergio Agüero}} hat-trick against {{wp|Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool}} as well as {{wp|Virgil van Dijk}}'s sending-off, leaving him unable to participate in the second leg for which he was suspended.
* {{wp|Bohemian F.C.|Bohemian}} v {{wp|Manchester City}}
* {{wp|Rangers F.C.|Rangers}} v {{wp|Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal}}
* {{wp|Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea}} v {{wp|Hannover 96}}
* {{wp|Celtic F.C.|Celtic}} v {{wp|Hamburger SV}}
* {{wp|Shamrock Rovers F.C.|Shamrock Rovers}} v {{wp|Manchester United}}
* {{wp|Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool}} v {{wp|Swansea City A.F.C.|Swansea City}}
* {{wp|SV Werder Bremen}} v {{wp|Cardiff City F.C.|Cardiff City}}


Then, on 25 May 2019, the second leg of the quarter-finals took place with {{wp|Tottenham Hotspur}} reinforcing their early lead with two further goals in the second leg against {{wp|Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal}}, which was similarly done by {{wp|Manchester City}}, whom reinforced their early lead via a 2-1 win over {{wp|Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool}} to win 6-1 on aggregate. In the meantime, {{wp|Manchester United}} scored thrice in the second leg to mark a final 4-2 win on aggregate against {{wp|Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea}} while {{wp|Burnley F.C.|Burnley}}'s 5-1 lead over {{wp|Wolverhampton Wanderers}} remained mostly unchanged, with neither sides able to score any additional goals in the second leg. Meanwhile, {{wp|Tottenham Hotspur}} winger, {{wp|Son Heung-min}}, despite his club's victory, was otherwise suspended for the first leg of the semi-finals after having picked up his second cumulative yellow card.
==Round of 16==
On 18 May 2019, the first four rounds of 16 matches took place. In this, {{wp|THFC|Tottenham Hotspur}} kicked off the tournament with a comfortable 4-0 win over {{wp|Dundalk F.C.|Dundalk}}, followed by {{wp|Manchester City}} similarly defeating {{wp|Bohemian F.C.|Bohemian}} 2-0. Meanwhile, the stage's biggest victory so far was seen in {{wp|Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal}}'s dominant 4-0 victory over {{wp|Rangers F.C.|Rangers}} with {{wp|Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea}} also proving successful against their opponents in a 3-1 win over {{wp|Hannover 96}} whose striker {{wp|Niclas Füllkrug}} provided the lone goal for his side in the 51st minute that ultimately proved insufficient.


==Draw==
On 19 May 2019, the last four rounds of 16 matches took place. In this, a 20th-minute goal from {{wp|Odsonne Édouard}} allowed {{wp|Celtic F.C.|Celtic}} to narrowly see off {{wp|Hamburger SV}} while {{wp|Manchester United}}'s {{wp|Ashley Young}} similarly scored the only goal in the match to give his side a 1-0 win over {{wp|Shamrock Rovers F.C.|Shamrock Rovers}}. Meanwhile, in a surprisingly tight contest, {{wp|Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool}}'s {{wp|Daniel Sturridge}} scored a brace in the 101st minute to complement a goal from just a minute earlier by teammate {{wp|Fabinho (footballer, born 1993)|Fabinho}} to mark a 3-1 win over {{wp|Swansea City A.F.C.|Swansea City}} while lone goals from {{wp|SV Werder Bremen}}'s {{wp|Milot Rashica}} and {{wp|Cardiff City F.C.|Cardiff City}}'s {{wp|Bruno Ecuele Manga}} respectively resulted in a 1-1 draw and an ensuing penalty shootout that eventually ended in a 3-1 win for {{wp|SV Werder Bremen}}.
For the semi-finals, the four remaining clubs are drawn against each other via a lucky draw held on 28 May 2019. The results of the draw, which was televised live on {{wp|BBC Sport}} and {{wp|Sky Sport}}, are as follows:
* {{wp|Burnley F.C.|Burnley}} V {{wp|Manchester United}}
* {{wp|Manchester City}} V {{wp|THFC|Tottenham Hotspur}}


==Semi-Finals==
==Quarter-finals==
On 1 June 2019, the first leg of the semi-finals took place. Against initial expectations, {{wp|Manchester United}} were held to a 1-1 draw against {{wp|Burnley F.C.|Burnley}} while {{wp|Tottenham Hotspur}}, via two penalty goals from {{wp|Erik Lamela}} and an additional goal from {{wp|Mousa Dembélé (Belgian footballer)|Mousa Dembélé}}, marked a surprise 3-1 win over {{wp|Manchester City}}, whose lone goal came via {{wp|Fernandinho (footballer, born May 1985)|Fernandinho}} at the 92nd minute in extra time. Meanwhile, in a second red card instance of the tournament, {{wp|Manchester United}} defender, {{wp|Ashley Young}} was sent off, leaving him ineligible to participate in the second half while {{wp|Tottenham Hotspur}} winger, {{wp|Son Heung-min}}, having served his initial suspension, is otherwise eligible to return for the second leg.  
On 21 May 2019, the first two quarter-final matches took place. In this, following an initial 76th-minute goal from {{wp|Kevin De Bruyne}}, {{wp|Manchester City}} was ultimately eliminated by a dramatic 2-1 comeback victory from {{wp|THFC|Tottenham Hotspur}} whose players {{wp|Son Heung-min}} and {{wp|Lucas Moura}} scored within two minutes of each other to help the club qualify for the semi-finals. Likewise, derby rivals {{wp|Manchester United}} were also eliminated by the {{wp|London}}-based {{wp|Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea}} whose midfielder {{wp|Mateo Kovačić}} scored once and later assisted a goal from {{wp|N'Golo Kanté}} in a 2-0 win.  


On 8 June 2019, the second leg of the semi-finals took place. In this, despite overwhelming dominance, {{wp|Manchester United}} failed to break the deadlock against {{wp|Burnley F.C.|Burnley}}, resulting in a penalty shootout which they eventually won 5-3 to progress to the finals. Meanwhile, in a close match between the other two semi-finalists, {{wp|Tottenham Hotspur}}, despite a narrow 1-2 loss in the second leg, successfully held on to their initial 3-1 lead and eventually concluded the match with a final 4-3 win on aggregate, with {{wp|Dele Alli}} scoring once to ensure his club's progress to the finals after {{wp|Manchester City}} briefly tied their opponents on aggregate via goals from {{wp|David Silva}} and {{wp|Kevin De Bruyne}}. Despite this, {{wp|Tottenham Hotspur}} defender, {{wp|Ben Davies (footballer, born 1993)|Ben Davies}}, having picked up a red card, is rendered ineligible for the finals. At the same time, {{wp|Manchester United}} defender, {{wp|Ashley Young}}, is otherwise eligible for the finals, having served his initial suspension for the second leg.
On 22 May 2019, the last two quarter-final matches took place. In this, a brace from {{wp|Fabinho (footballer, born 1993)|Fabinho}} and an additional goal from {{wp|Sadio Mané}} saw {{wp|Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool}} comfortably defeat {{wp|SV Werder Bremen}} 3-1. Otherwise, in a dramatic and lengthy affair, {{wp|Héctor Bellerín}} scored a last-minute 120th-minute corner for {{wp|Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal}}, thereby narrowly avoiding a penalty shootout in a 1-0 win over {{wp|Celtic F.C.|Celtic}} whose defence held stubbornly throughout the entirety of the match in the face of twenty-six attempts, eleven of which were on target, by {{wp|Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal}}.


==Finals & Third-place Playoffs==
==Semi-Finals==
On 15 June 2019, the final match of the tournament was held at {{wp|Wembley Stadium}}, {{wp|London}}, pitting {{wp|Manchester United}} against {{wp|Tottenham Hotspur}}. In front of a sold-out crowd at {{wp|Wembley Stadium}}, {{wp|Tottenham Hotspur}} ultimately emerged victorious via a 5-0 win over {{wp|Manchester United}}, with captain, {{wp|Harry Kane}} scoring twice to add onto goals by teammates, {{wp|Danny Rose (footballer, born 1990)|Danny Rose}}, {{wp|Son Heung-min}}, and {{wp|Mousa Dembélé (Belgian footballer)|Mousa Dembélé}}.
On 26 May 2019, the two semi-final matches took place. In this, goals from longtime striker {{wp|Harry Kane}} and defender {{wp|Ben Davies (footballer, born 1993)|Ben Davies}} allowed {{wp|THFC|Tottenham Hotspur}} to defeat {{wp|Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea}} 2-0 while a lone goal from {{wp|Sadio Mané}} saw {{wp|Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool}} narrowly defeat {{wp|Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal}} 1-0 in a close contest between the two sides in which {{wp|Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool}}'s victory meant the end of a potential {{wp|North London derby}} in the finals between the defeated semi-finalists {{wp|Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal}} and eventual champions {{wp|THFC|Tottenham Hotspur}}.


In the meantime, for the third-place playoff match at {{wp|Old Trafford}}, {{wp|Manchester}}, {{wp|Manchester City}} emerged victorious over {{wp|Burnley F.C.|Burnley}} via a 3-1 win during which, despite a dominant performance and goals from {{wp|David Silva}} and {{wp|Vincent Kompany}}, {{wp|Manchester City}} was almost held to a draw after a late {{wp|Matěj Vydra}} goal saw {{wp|Burnley F.C.|Burnley}} came close to equalising with their opponents before a {{wp|Leroy Sané}} goal in extra time confirmed {{wp|Manchester City}}'s final 3-1 victory.
==Final==
On 30 May 2019, the final match took place at {{wp|Wembley Stadium}}, {{wp|London}}, between {{wp|THFC|Tottenham Hotspur}} and {{wp|Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool}}. In this, following a series of unsuccessful attempts from {{wp|Son Heung-min}} in finding a breakthrough, a 79th-minute goal from {{wp|Dele Alli}} saw {{wp|THFC|Tottenham Hotspur}} mark a 1-0 victory over {{wp|Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool}} to win the tournament outright. However, in a brief moment of controversy, {{wp|Serge Aurier}}, who came on as a substitute for {{wp|Ben Davies (footballer, born 1993)|Ben Davies}}, was sent off late into the 94th minute although this did not ultimately affect the final outcome of the match.


==Aftermath==
==Aftermath==
By the end of the tournament, the distinctions of top goalscorer and top assister both went to {{wp|Manchester City}} players, namely {{wp|Sergio Agüero}} and {{wp|Bernardo Silva}} with four goals and four assists in total respectively. In the meantime, {{wp|Tottenham Hotspur}} captain, {{wp|Harry Kane}} was named the best player of the tournament while teammate, {{wp|Hugo Lloris}} was named the best goalkeeper of the tournament, having kept the most number of clean sheets with three in total, followed closely behind by {{wp|Burnley F.C.|Burnley}}'s {{wp|Nick Pope}} with two clean sheets.
With the tournament's conclusion, {{wp|Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool}}'s {{wp|Fabinho (footballer, born 1993)|Fabinho}} finished as the tournament's top goalscorer with three goals while {{wp|THFC|Tottenham Hotspur}}'s {{wp|Belgian}} defensive pair {{wp|Jan Vertonghen}} and {{wp|Toby Alderweireld}} shared the honour of being the tournament's top assisters with two assists each. Meanwhile, having only conceded once throughout the entirety of the tournament, namely in his side's 2-1 win over {{wp|Manchester City}}, {{wp|THFC|Tottenham Hotspur}}'s {{wp|Hugo Lloris}} was named the tournament's best goalkeeper.
 
Considered by most media outlets and observers to be an overwhelming success, {{wp|BBC News}} later reported that the tournament garnered an estimated profit of £58.5 million, an amount that was later funneled towards further developing towards both men's and women's football as per the [[Alexandra, Queen of the British|Queen]]'s request.

Latest revision as of 11:08, 15 August 2024

The Premier Cup was a one-off football tournament held by the United Kingdom's football associations to mark the coronation of Queen Alexandra on 1 August 2019. Contested between sixteen football clubs, the tournament lasted for four weeks, beginning on 18 May 2019 and ending on 30 May 2019.

Consisting of a total of sixteen clubs, in alphabetical order, the teams that competed in the tournament were:

In total, the tournament consisted of four stages, namely the round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finals, all of which are one-legged occasions. Meanwhile, the clubs that compete in the tournament are drawn against one another at random via a televised lucky draw, and their fixtures in the round of 16, quarter-finals, and semi-finals are played simultaneously. In the aftermath of the tournament, the finals were held at Wembley Stadium, London.

Similar to most football tournaments, penalty shootouts were used to break any potential deadlocks. Meanwhile, a player who has picked up two cumulative yellow cards or a red card is declared ineligible for the next match and must therefore wait out the suspension period before being allowed to return.

Venue

Being a nationwide event, a total of fourteen stadiums across the United Kingdom were used. For the round of 16 matches, the eight venues chosen were Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Old Trafford, Celtic Park, Ibrox Stadium, Swansea.com Stadium, Windsor Park, Eintracht-Stadion, and Volkswagen Arena. Then, for the quarter-finals, the venues for the four ensuing matches were Cardiff City Stadium, Aviva Stadium, Heinz-von-Heiden-Arena, and London Stadium. Following this, for the two matches in the semi-finals, Wembley Stadium and Hampden Park, which houses the national football teams of England and Scotland respectively, were chosen as the host venues. Lastly, owing to its outsized reputation and its status as the country's biggest stadium, Wembley Stadium was chosen to host the final match.

Draw

For the round of 16, the clubs competing in the tournament were randomly paired against each other via a lucky draw held on 14 May 2019. The results of the draw, which was televised live on multiple channels including BBC Sport, Sky Sports, and beIN Sports, are as follows:

Round of 16

On 18 May 2019, the first four rounds of 16 matches took place. In this, Tottenham Hotspur kicked off the tournament with a comfortable 4-0 win over Dundalk, followed by Manchester City similarly defeating Bohemian 2-0. Meanwhile, the stage's biggest victory so far was seen in Arsenal's dominant 4-0 victory over Rangers with Chelsea also proving successful against their opponents in a 3-1 win over Hannover 96 whose striker Niclas Füllkrug provided the lone goal for his side in the 51st minute that ultimately proved insufficient.

On 19 May 2019, the last four rounds of 16 matches took place. In this, a 20th-minute goal from Odsonne Édouard allowed Celtic to narrowly see off Hamburger SV while Manchester United's Ashley Young similarly scored the only goal in the match to give his side a 1-0 win over Shamrock Rovers. Meanwhile, in a surprisingly tight contest, Liverpool's Daniel Sturridge scored a brace in the 101st minute to complement a goal from just a minute earlier by teammate Fabinho to mark a 3-1 win over Swansea City while lone goals from SV Werder Bremen's Milot Rashica and Cardiff City's Bruno Ecuele Manga respectively resulted in a 1-1 draw and an ensuing penalty shootout that eventually ended in a 3-1 win for SV Werder Bremen.

Quarter-finals

On 21 May 2019, the first two quarter-final matches took place. In this, following an initial 76th-minute goal from Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City was ultimately eliminated by a dramatic 2-1 comeback victory from Tottenham Hotspur whose players Son Heung-min and Lucas Moura scored within two minutes of each other to help the club qualify for the semi-finals. Likewise, derby rivals Manchester United were also eliminated by the London-based Chelsea whose midfielder Mateo Kovačić scored once and later assisted a goal from N'Golo Kanté in a 2-0 win.

On 22 May 2019, the last two quarter-final matches took place. In this, a brace from Fabinho and an additional goal from Sadio Mané saw Liverpool comfortably defeat SV Werder Bremen 3-1. Otherwise, in a dramatic and lengthy affair, Héctor Bellerín scored a last-minute 120th-minute corner for Arsenal, thereby narrowly avoiding a penalty shootout in a 1-0 win over Celtic whose defence held stubbornly throughout the entirety of the match in the face of twenty-six attempts, eleven of which were on target, by Arsenal.

Semi-Finals

On 26 May 2019, the two semi-final matches took place. In this, goals from longtime striker Harry Kane and defender Ben Davies allowed Tottenham Hotspur to defeat Chelsea 2-0 while a lone goal from Sadio Mané saw Liverpool narrowly defeat Arsenal 1-0 in a close contest between the two sides in which Liverpool's victory meant the end of a potential North London derby in the finals between the defeated semi-finalists Arsenal and eventual champions Tottenham Hotspur.

Final

On 30 May 2019, the final match took place at Wembley Stadium, London, between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool. In this, following a series of unsuccessful attempts from Son Heung-min in finding a breakthrough, a 79th-minute goal from Dele Alli saw Tottenham Hotspur mark a 1-0 victory over Liverpool to win the tournament outright. However, in a brief moment of controversy, Serge Aurier, who came on as a substitute for Ben Davies, was sent off late into the 94th minute although this did not ultimately affect the final outcome of the match.

Aftermath

With the tournament's conclusion, Liverpool's Fabinho finished as the tournament's top goalscorer with three goals while Tottenham Hotspur's Belgian defensive pair Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld shared the honour of being the tournament's top assisters with two assists each. Meanwhile, having only conceded once throughout the entirety of the tournament, namely in his side's 2-1 win over Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur's Hugo Lloris was named the tournament's best goalkeeper.

Considered by most media outlets and observers to be an overwhelming success, BBC News later reported that the tournament garnered an estimated profit of £58.5 million, an amount that was later funneled towards further developing towards both men's and women's football as per the Queen's request.