Lincoln Red Imps F.C.

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Lincoln Red Imps
Full nameLincoln Red Imps Football Club
Nickname(s)The Red Imps
Short nameLincoln
Founded1976;48 years ago (1976) as Blue Batons
Ground Victoria Stadium
Capacity5,000
OwnerDylan Viagas
Head coach David Campaña
League Gibraltar Football League
2023–24 1st
Website Club website

Lincoln Red Imps Football Club is a professional football club from Gibraltar. [1] They play in the Gibraltar Football League, and share Victoria Stadium with all other clubs in the territory. [2] They are the country's record champion with 27 league titles, including fourteen consecutive titles between 2003 and 2016, and in 2014 were the first team to represent Gibraltar in the UEFA Champions League's qualifying stage. In August 2021, Lincoln became the first club from Gibraltar to ever reach the group stages of a European club competition after defeating the Latvian champions Riga FC in the play-off round of the UEFA Europa Conference League.

Contents

The club has won 7 domestic trebles and 4 doubles in its history. [3] They hold the record for Europe's longest chronological unbeaten league run of 88 matches over 1,959 days from May 2009 to September 2014. [4]

History

The football club was formed in 1976 by Elton Duarte in the quarry pitch. A group of players associated to the old Police youth team called the "Blue Batons" and complemented by players that had been released by Glacis United and St Jago's joined forces to form the first Lincoln team that played in the Gibraltar fourth division as a youth team. The team was named after Lincoln City FC, who are nicknamed the "Imps" after the legend of the Lincoln Imp. Lincoln Red Imps received their name after they were sponsored by Reg Brealey, the former Sheffield United chairman and Lincoln resident who is friends with Charles Polson. [5] [6] [7]

When this Lincoln team became old enough to play Senior Football, it was decided to place the young team into the GFA second division. The team started to climb to the top in the second division in the season 1981–82 winning the league, the division cup and gaining promotion to the GFA's first division after only one season. The next year Lincoln finished in mid table in the first division. In 1983–84 Lincoln won the league and promotion to the Gibraltar Premier Division. [8]

In 1984–85 Lincoln played their first season in the Gibraltar Premier Division in which they were joint champions with Glacis United – the first of seven league titles which were won between 1984 and 1994.

Lincoln won 14 Gibraltar Premier Division titles in a row from 2003 to 2016, bettering the previous record of nine in a row held by Glacis United in the 1960s. They also won the national treble of League, Rock Cup and Senior Cup in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2011.

2014

In 2014, after Gibraltar had joined UEFA as the 54th member, Lincoln became the first Gibraltarian team to play in the qualifying stages of the UEFA Champions League. After claiming a 1–1 draw in the home match, they lost 5–2 at Faroese team HB and were eliminated in the first qualifying round. [9]

2015

Lincoln won both the 2015 Rock Cup with a 4–1 victory over Lynx F.C. [10] and the 2014–15 Gibraltar Premier Division championship by 16 points, [11] again playing in the qualification stages for the UEFA Champions League for with their second straight double. [12] In the First Qualifying Round Lincoln were drawn against FC Santa Coloma of Andorra. [13] After a scoreless draw in the first leg in Gibraltar, [14] the club earned a 2–1 victory at the Estadi Comunal d'Andorra la Vella to advance to the Second Qualifying Round with goals coming from Anthony Bardon and Lee Casciaro. [15] With the victory, Lincoln became the first club from Gibraltar to reach the second round of UEFA Champions League qualification, setting up an encounter with 2015 Danish champions FC Midtjylland, [16] which Lincoln Red Imps lost on aggregate 0–3.

2016

In 2016 Lincoln pulled off a surprise victory against Scottish Premiership champions Celtic, with a 1–0 victory at home after a 48th-minute strike from Lee Casciaro in the club's second round match of the UEFA Champions League qualifying stage. The match was Brendan Rodgers first competitive fixture as manager of Celtic. [17] The Glasgow side still comfortably qualified with a 3–0 victory in the return leg at Celtic Park. It is still seen as one of Celtic's worst moments.

2021

On 26 August 2021, Lincoln became the first team from Gibraltar to qualify for the group stage in a European Competition, as they defeated Riga FC by a score of 3–1 (4–2 aggregate) and advanced to the group stage of the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League. [18]

Seasons (since UEFA acceptance)

SeasonDivisionLeague record Rock Cup Pepe Reyes
Cup
Europe
PWDLGFGAPtsPosCompetitionResult
2013–14 Premier141130666361st Winners Runners-up
2014–15 Premier2119118012581st Winners WinnersChampions League First qualifying round
2015–16 Premier2725111309761st Winners WinnersChampions League Second qualifying round
2016–17 Premier27233110016722nd Runners-up Runners-upChampions League Second qualifying round
2017–18 Premier2721247119651st Semi-finals WinnersEuropa League First qualifying round
2018–19 Premier2721338419661st Second round Runners-upChampions League
Europa League
Preliminary round
Second qualifying round
2019–20 National1713046815393rd [lower-alpha 1] Abandoned Runners-upChampions League
Europa League
Preliminary round
Second qualifying round
2020–21 National2015326213481st Winners Europa League Second qualifying round
2021–22 National2019106517581st Winners Runners-upChampions League
Europa League
Europa Conference League
Second qualifying round
Third qualifying round
Group stage
2022–23 National2017126814521st Runners-up WinnersChampions League
Europa Conference League
First qualifying round
Second qualifying round
2023–24 National2521228615651st Winners Runners-upChampions League
Europa Conference League
First qualifying round
Third qualifying round
  1. The 2019–20 Gibraltar National League season, and the 2020 Rock Cup, were abandoned with results declared null and void and results expunged due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stadium

Victoria Stadium DSC 0286 C.jpg
Victoria Stadium

Lincoln currently plays all league games at the 2,000-seat Victoria Stadium. The club share this ground with all clubs currently participating in the Gibraltar Premier Division, as well as the Gibraltar Women's Football League, of which Lincoln also runs a team.

Due to the ground's failure to meet guidelines in the 2017–18 season, Lincoln, along with Europa and St Joseph's, were forced to play their European competition matches at the Estadio Algarve in Portugal, while improvements were carried out on Victoria Stadium.

It is expected that the ground will be renovated and expanded to a football specific stadium with a capacity of 8,000 by 2021. [19]

Honours

Lincoln Red Imps fans at the Victoria stadium in 2014. Lincoln Red Imps fans, 2014.jpg
Lincoln Red Imps fans at the Victoria stadium in 2014.
1984–85, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24
1985–86, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1992–93, 1993–94, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2021, 2021–22, 2023–24
2001, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2022
1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1999–00, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2013–14

European record

Lincoln's first qualifying round match of the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League marked the first match played by a Gibraltarian club in UEFA competition. After converting a penalty, a second half goal was conceded and the game ended in a draw. [24]

Overall

As of match played 9 July 2024
CompetitionPldWDLGFGAGD
UEFA Champions League 2573152443–19
UEFA Europa League 133371325–12
UEFA Europa Conference League 131210828–20
Overall51118324596–51

Matches

SeasonCompetitionRoundClubHomeAwayAggregateY/N
2014–15 UEFA Champions League 1Q Flag of the Faroe Islands.svg HB Tórshavn 1–12–53–6 Symbol delete vote.svg
2015–16 UEFA Champions League 1Q Flag of Andorra.svg Santa Coloma 0–02–12–1 Symbol keep vote.svg
2Q Flag of Denmark.svg Midtjylland 0–20–10–3 Symbol delete vote.svg
2016–17 UEFA Champions League 1Q Flag of Estonia.svg Flora Tallinn 2–01–23–2 Symbol keep vote.svg
2Q Flag of Scotland.svg Celtic 1–0 0–31–3 Symbol delete vote.svg
2017–18 UEFA Europa League 1Q Flag of Cyprus.svg AEK Larnaca 1–10–51–6 Symbol delete vote.svg
2018–19 UEFA Champions League PR Flag of San Marino.svg La Fiorita 2–0 Symbol keep vote.svg
Flag of Kosovo.svg Drita 1–4 Symbol delete vote.svg
UEFA Europa League 2Q Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg The New Saints 1–11–22–3 Symbol delete vote.svg
2019–20 UEFA Champions League PR Flag of Kosovo.svg Feronikeli 0–1 Symbol delete vote.svg
UEFA Europa League 2Q Flag of Armenia.svg Ararat-Armenia 1–20–21–4 Symbol delete vote.svg
2020–21 UEFA Europa League PR Flag of Kosovo.svg Prishtina 3–0
(awd.)
Symbol keep vote.svg
1Q Flag of Luxembourg.svg Union Titus Pétange 2–0 Symbol keep vote.svg
2Q Flag of Scotland.svg Rangers 0–5 Symbol delete vote.svg
2021–22 UEFA Champions League 1Q Flag of Luxembourg.svg Fola Esch 5–02–27–2 Symbol keep vote.svg
2Q Flag of Romania.svg CFR Cluj 1–20–21–4 Symbol delete vote.svg
UEFA Europa League 3Q Flag of Slovakia.svg Slovan Bratislava 1–31–12–4 Symbol delete vote.svg
UEFA Europa Conference League PO Flag of Latvia.svg Riga 3–1 ( a.e.t. )1–14–2 Symbol keep vote.svg
GS Flag of Denmark.svg Copenhagen 0–41–34th place Symbol delete vote.svg
Flag of Greece.svg PAOK 0–20–2
Flag of Slovakia.svg Slovan Bratislava 1–40–2
2022–23 UEFA Champions League 1Q Flag of North Macedonia.svg Shkupi 2–00–32–3 Symbol delete vote.svg
UEFA Europa Conference League 2Q Flag of Kazakhstan.svg Tobol 0–10–20−3 Symbol delete vote.svg
2023–24 UEFA Champions League 1Q Flag of Azerbaijan.svg Qarabağ 1–20–41–6 Symbol delete vote.svg
UEFA Europa Conference League 2Q Bye Symbol keep vote.svg
3Q Flag of Kosovo.svg Ballkani 1–30–21–5 Symbol delete vote.svg
2024–25 UEFA Champions League 1Q Flag of Malta.svg Ħamrun Spartans 0–1 ( a.e.t. )1–01–1 (5–4 p) Symbol keep vote.svg
2Q Flag of Azerbaijan.svg Qarabağ 0–20–50–7 Symbol delete vote.svg
UEFA Europa League 3Q Flag of Belarus.svg Dinamo Minsk 2–10–22–3 Symbol delete vote.svg
UEFA Conference League PO Ulster Banner.svg Larne 2–11–33–4 Symbol delete vote.svg
Notes

Current squad

First team

As of 16 August 2024 [25]
No.Pos.NationPlayer
1 GK Flag of Spain.svg  ESP Nauzet Santana
2 DF Flag of Spain.svg  ESP Jesús Toscano
4 MF Flag of Gibraltar.svg  GIB Nicholas Pozo
5 DF Flag of Ghana.svg  GHA Ibrahim Ayew
6 DF Flag of Gibraltar.svg  GIB Bernardo Lopes (vice-captain)
7 FW Flag of Gibraltar.svg  GIB Lee Casciaro
8 MF Flag of Ghana.svg  GHA Mustapha Yahaya
9 FW Flag of the Philippines.svg  PHI Kike Gómez
10 FW Flag of Gibraltar.svg  GIB Tjay De Barr
11 MF Flag of Gibraltar.svg  GIB Julian Valarino
13 GK Flag of Spain.svg  ESP Vitolo
14 DF Flag of Gibraltar.svg  GIB Roy Chipolina (captain)
15 DF Flag of Spain.svg  ESP Rafa Muñoz
17 FW Flag of Spain.svg  ESP Pedro Martín
18 FW Flag of Spain.svg  ESP Toni García
No.Pos.NationPlayer
20 DF Flag of Gibraltar.svg  GIB Ethan Britto
21 DF Flag of Spain.svg  ESP Nano
22 MF Flag of Gibraltar.svg  GIB Graeme Torrilla
23 MF Flag of Spain.svg  ESP Joe
24 DF Flag of Gibraltar.svg  GIB Jack Sergeant
25 GK Flag of Gibraltar.svg  GIB Ryan Smith
26 MF Flag of Gibraltar.svg  GIB Dan Bent
27 GK Flag of Gibraltar.svg  GIB Jaylan Hankins
29 MF Flag of Gibraltar.svg  GIB Lee Chipolina
31 FW Flag of Gibraltar.svg  GIB Jonathan Sciortino
33 DF Flag of the Netherlands.svg  NED Djumaney Burnet
70 FW Flag of Spain.svg  ESP Víctor Villacañas
71 DF Flag of Gibraltar.svg  GIB Javan Peacock
88 MF Flag of Spain.svg  ESP Mandi

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.Pos.NationPlayer
19 MF Flag of Gibraltar.svg  GIB Kyle Clinton(at College 1975)
28 DF Flag of Gibraltar.svg  GIB Ryan Azopardi(at College 1975)
No.Pos.NationPlayer
69 DF Flag of Gibraltar.svg  GIB Julian Laguea(at College 1975)
DF Flag of Gibraltar.svg  GIB Julian Britto(at College 1975)

Club staff

[26]

PositionName
Head coach Flag of Spain.svg Javi Muñoz
Assistant coach Flag of Spain.svg Juan José Bezares
Goalkeeper coach Flag of Spain.svg Dani Lima
Strength & conditioning coach Flag of Gibraltar.svg Liam Mesilio
U23 Head coach Flag of Gibraltar.svg Ryan Casciaro
U23 Assistant coach Flag of Gibraltar.svg Kyle Goldwin
Head physio Flag of Gibraltar.svg Keith Ramirez
Team doctor Flag of Spain.svg Francisco Moya
Kitman Flag of Spain.svg Alberto Torremocha
Board
President Flag of Gibraltar.svg Dylan Viagas
Director Flag of Gibraltar.svg Christian Laguea
Director Flag of Gibraltar.svg Elton Duarte
Sporting director Flag of Spain.svg Juan José Gallardo
Secretary Flag of Gibraltar.svg Michael Ruiz

See also

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