Lincoln Red Imps F.C.

Lincoln Red Imps Football Club is a professional association football club from Gibraltar.[1] They play in the Gibraltar National 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.

For the English football club, see Lincoln City F.C.

Lincoln Red Imps
Full nameLincoln Red Imps Football Club
Short nameLincoln
Founded1976 (1976) as Blue Batons
GroundVictoria Stadium,
Winston Churchill Avenue, Gibraltar
Capacity5,000
ChairmanDylan Viagas
ManagerJavi Muñoz
LeagueGibraltar National League
2022–23Championship Group: 1st
Overall: Champions
WebsiteClub website

The club holds the world record for treble trophies won in a season with 12 trebles won. They also hold the record for Europe's longest chronological unbeaten league run of 88 matches over 1,959 days from May 2009 to September 2014.[3]

History

The football club was first formed in 1976 by Charles Polson and Charles Head, the latter managing the team. 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.[4][5] [6]

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.[7]

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.[8]

  • Lincoln Red Imps squad in May 2014
    Lincoln Red Imps squad in May 2014
  • UEFA President Michel Platini at the 2014 Rock Cup presentation
    UEFA President Michel Platini at the 2014 Rock Cup presentation
  • Lincoln Red Imps Captain lifting 2014 Rock Cup from Platini
    Lincoln Red Imps Captain lifting 2014 Rock Cup from Platini
  • Lincoln Red Imps players with 2014 silverware
    Lincoln Red Imps players with 2014 silverware
  • Joseph Chipolina holding plaque commemorating club's Rock Cup victory
    Joseph Chipolina holding plaque commemorating club's Rock Cup victory

2015

Lincoln won both the 2015 Rock Cup with a 4–1 victory over Lynx F.C.[9] and the 2014–15 Gibraltar Premier Division championship by 16 points,[10] again playing in the qualification stages for the UEFA Champions League for with their second straight double.[11] In the First Qualifying Round Lincoln were drawn against FC Santa Coloma of Andorra.[12] After a scoreless draw in the first leg in Gibraltar,[13] 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.[14] 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,[15] 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.[16] The Glasgow side still comfortably qualified thanks to a 3–0 victory in the return leg at Celtic Park.

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.[17]

Seasons (since UEFA acceptance)
Season Division League record Rock Cup Pepe Reyes
Cup		 Europe
P W D L GF GA Pts Pos Competition Result
2013–14 Premier 14113066636 1st Winners Runners-up ——
2014–15 Premier 211911801258 1st Winners Winners Champions League First qualifying round
2015–16 Premier 272511130976 1st Winners Winners Champions League Second qualifying round
2016–17 Premier 2723311001672 2nd Runners-up Runners-up Champions League Second qualifying round
2017–18 Premier 272124711965 1st Semi-finals Winners Europa League First qualifying round
2018–19 Premier 272133841966 1st Second round Runners-up Champions League
Europa League		 Preliminary round
Second qualifying round
2019–20 National 1713046815393rd[lower-alpha 1] Abandoned Runners-up Champions League
Europa League		 Preliminary round
Second qualifying round
2020–21 National 201532621348 1st Winners— Europa LeagueSecond qualifying round
2021–22 National 201910651758 1st Winners Runners-up Champions League
Europa League
Europa Conference League		 Second qualifying round
Third qualifying round
Group stage
2022–23 National 201712681452 1st Runners-up Winners Champions League
Europa Conference League		 First qualifying round
Second 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

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.[18]

Honours
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
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, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2020–21, 2021–22
2001, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2022

Regional
  • Gibraltar League Senior Cup: 18[22]
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
See also: Gibraltarian football clubs in European competitions

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.[23]

Overall
As of match played 17 August 2023
Competition Pld W D L GF GA GD
UEFA Champions League 21 6 3 12 23 35 –12
UEFA Europa League 11 2 3 6 11 22 –11
UEFA Europa Conference League 12 1 1 10 7 27 –20
Overall 44 9 7 27 41 84 –43

Matches
Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate Y/N
2014–15 UEFA Champions League 1Q Faroe Islands HB Tórshavn 1–1 2–5 3–6
2015–16 UEFA Champions League 1Q Andorra Santa Coloma 0–0 2–1 2–1
2Q Denmark Midtjylland 0–2 0–1 0–3
2016–17 UEFA Champions League 1Q Estonia Flora Tallinn 2–0 1–2 3–2
2Q Scotland Celtic 1–0 0–3 1–3
2017–18 UEFA Europa League 1Q Cyprus AEK Larnaca 1–1 0–5 1–6
2018–19 UEFA Champions League PR San Marino La Fiorita 2–0 —
Kosovo Drita 1–4 —
UEFA Europa League 2Q Wales The New Saints 1–1 1–2 2–3
2019–20 UEFA Champions League PR Kosovo Feronikeli 0–1 —
UEFA Europa League 2Q Armenia Ararat-Armenia 1–2 0–2 1–4
2020–21 UEFA Europa League PR Kosovo Prishtina 3–0
(awd.)		 — —
1Q Luxembourg Union Titus Pétange 2–0 — —
2Q Scotland Rangers 0–5 — —
2021–22 UEFA Champions League 1Q Luxembourg Fola Esch 5–0 2–2 7–2
2Q Romania CFR Cluj 1–2 0–2 1–4
UEFA Europa League 3Q Slovakia Slovan Bratislava 1–3 1–1 2–4
UEFA Europa Conference League PO Latvia Riga 3–1 (a.e.t.) 1–1 4–2
GS Denmark Copenhagen 0–4 1–3 4th place
Greece PAOK 0–2 0–2
Slovakia Slovan Bratislava 1–4 0–2
2022–23 UEFA Champions League 1Q North Macedonia Shkupi 2–0 0–3 2–3
UEFA Europa Conference League 2Q Kazakhstan Tobol 0–1 0–2 0−3
2023–24 UEFA Champions League 1Q Azerbaijan Qarabağ 1–2 0–4 1–6
UEFA Europa Conference League 2Q Bye — — —
3Q Kosovo Ballkani 1–3 0–2 1–5
Notes
  • PR: Preliminary round
  • 1Q: First qualifying round
  • 2Q: Second qualifying round
  • PO: Play-off round
  • GS: Group stage

Current squad

First team
As of 9 July 2023[24]
No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Spain ESP Nauzet Santana
2 DF Spain ESP Jesús Toscano
4 MF Nigeria NGA Samson Bolaji
5 DF Ghana GHA Ibrahim Ayew
6 DF Gibraltar GIB Bernardo Lopes (vice-captain)
7 FW Gibraltar GIB Lee Casciaro
8 MF Gibraltar GIB Julian Valarino
9 FW Philippines PHI Kike Gómez
10 MF Gibraltar GIB Liam Walker
11 MF Spain ESP Juampe
13 GK Spain ESP Iván Villanueva
14 DF Gibraltar GIB Roy Chipolina (captain)
17 MF Spain ESP Marco Rosa
19 FW Spain ESP Juanfri
20 MF Ghana GHA Mustapha Yahaya
No. Pos. Nation Player
21 DF Spain ESP Nano
22 MF Gibraltar GIB Graeme Torrilla
23 GK Gibraltar GIB Dayle Coleing
24 DF Gibraltar GIB Jack Sergeant
27 DF Ecuador ECU Gabriel Corozo
29 MF Gibraltar GIB Lee Chipolina
30 FW Gibraltar GIB Jonathan Sciortino
33 DF Netherlands NED Djumaney Burnet
66 DF Gibraltar GIB Ethan Britto
69 DF Gibraltar GIB Julian Laguea
70 FW Spain ESP Victor Villacañas
77 MF Gibraltar GIB Kyle Clinton
81 GK Gibraltar GIB Lee Mifsud
88 MF Spain ESP Mandi
— MF Spain ESP Jorge Galdón

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. Nation Player
— GK Gibraltar GIB Jaylan Hankins (at Bruno's Magpies)
No. Pos. Nation Player

Intermediate League squad

Players registered for the Gibraltar Intermediate League without senior squad numbers. First team players may also appear for this team

No. Pos. Nation Player
3 MF Gibraltar GIB Kaleem Smith
15 DF Gibraltar GIB Jaylen Duarte
16 DF Gibraltar GIB Jay Coombes
25 GK Gibraltar GIB Ryan Smith
26 DF Gibraltar GIB Alex Collado
28 DF Gibraltar GIB Ryan Azopardi
30 MF Gibraltar GIB Jesse Clinton
32 MF Gibraltar GIB Julian Soiza
No. Pos. Nation Player
34 DF Gibraltar GIB Kai Villa
35 FW Gibraltar GIB Evan Villa
36 MF Gibraltar GIB Jamie Golding
37 FW Gibraltar GIB Leon Ramirez
38 MF Gibraltar GIB Kaydan Rodriguez
39 FW Gibraltar GIB Ashton Wahnon
— MF England ENG Harvey Jones-Michael

Club staff
Correct as of 25 October 2022.[25]
Position Name
Club Management
Head coach Spain Javi Muñoz
Assistant coach Spain Juan José Bezares
Fitness coach Spain Miguel Chamorro
Goalkeeper coach Spain Dani Lima
Strength & Conditioning Coach Gibraltar Liam Mesilio
U23 Head Coach Gibraltar Ryan Casciaro
U23 Assistant Coach Gibraltar Kyle Goldwin
U23 Coach Gibraltar Tarik Chrayeh
Head of Youth Development Gibraltar Charles Cumbo
Head physio Gibraltar Keith Ramirez
Physio Spain Adam Oria
Team Doctor Spain Francisco Moya
Kit Man Spain Alberto Torremocha
Team Delegate Gibraltar Daniel Segovia
Board
President Gibraltar Dylan Viagas
Director Gibraltar Christian Laguea
Director Gibraltar Elton Duarte
Sporting director Spain Juan José Gallardo
Secretary Gibraltar Michael Ruiz

See also

References
  1. Brookfield, Saul (12 July 2016). "Lincoln Red Imps, the Gibraltar part-timers who embarrassed Celtic". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 28 March 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  2. "Lincoln Red Imps". Uefa.com. Archived from the original on 31 January 2020. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  3. "Where did Liverpool's run rank with greats?". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 4 March 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  4. "Red Imps invite Gibraltarian Red Imps to celebrate victory". BBC. 13 July 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  5. "The story behind Gibraltarian football club Lincoln Red Imps". lincolnshirelive. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  6. "Imps invite namesakes after Celtic win". BBC News. 13 July 2016. Archived from the original on 19 January 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2019 – via www.bbc.com.
  7. "Club history". lincolnredimps.com. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  8. "Five-goal HB hold off Lincoln comeback". UEFA. 8 July 2014. Archived from the original on 13 July 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  9. "2015 Rock Cup Final Match Report". Gibraltar FA. Archived from the original on 8 July 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  10. "201/15 Gibraltar Premier Division". Soccerway. Archived from the original on 7 July 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  11. Gonzalez, Ryan (June 2015). "Gibraltar double for Rock Cup winners Lincoln". UEFA. Archived from the original on 29 July 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  12. "Qualifying round draws start road to Milan". UEFA. 22 June 2015. Archived from the original on 7 November 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  13. "Red Imps vs. FC Santa Coloma Match Report 1". UEFA. Archived from the original on 4 July 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  14. "Lincoln Red Imps vs. FC Santa Coloma Match Report 2". UEFA. Archived from the original on 4 July 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  15. "Lincoln Make History!". 5point4sports.com. Archived from the original on 26 February 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  16. "Lincoln Red Imps 1 Celtic 0". BBC Sport. 12 July 2016. Archived from the original on 13 July 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
  17. "Lincoln Red Imps FC vs Riga FC - Europa Conference League stats, H2H, lineups". FotMob. Archived from the original on 26 August 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  18. Events, UKi Media & (26 June 2018). "New Gibraltar national stadium plans revealed". Stadia Magazine. Archived from the original on 23 September 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  19. "Gibraltar – List of Champions". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 9 October 2012. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  20. "Gibraltar – List of Cup Winners". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  21. "PEPE REYES CUP". footballgibraltar. Archived from the original on 12 March 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  22. "History – Senior Cup TITLES". Lincoln Red Imps FC. Archived from the original on 3 February 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  23. "Hanssen leveller denies Lincoln dream start". uefa.com. 2 July 2014. Archived from the original on 7 July 2014. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
  24. FIRST TEAM Archived 21 June 2019 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  25. First Team Archived 13 October 2020 at the Wayback Machine Lincoln Red Imps FC.
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