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Lincoln Red Imps
Lincoln-red-imps-fc.svg
Full name Lincoln Red Imps Football Club
Nickname(s) The Red Imps
Short name Lincoln
Founded 1976; 48 years ago (1976) as Blue Batons
Ground Victoria Stadium,
Winston Churchill Avenue, Gibraltar
Ground Capacity 5,000
Chairman Dylan Viagas
Manager Javi Muñoz
League Gibraltar National League
2022–23 Championship Group: 1st
Overall: Champions

Lincoln Red Imps Football Club is a professional association football club from Gibraltar. They play in the Gibraltar National League, and share Victoria Stadium with all other clubs in the territory. 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.

The club has won 7 domestic trebles and 4 doubles in its history. 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.

History

The football club was first 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.

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.

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.

2015

Lincoln won both the 2015 Rock Cup with a 4–1 victory over Lynx F.C. and the 2014–15 Gibraltar Premier Division championship by 16 points, again playing in the qualification stages for the UEFA Champions League for with their second straight double. In the First Qualifying Round Lincoln were drawn against FC Santa Coloma of Andorra. After a scoreless draw in the first leg in Gibraltar, 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. 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, 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. 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.

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 14 11 3 0 66 6 36 1st Winners Runners-up
2014–15 Premier 21 19 1 1 80 12 58 1st Winners Winners Champions League First qualifying round
2015–16 Premier 27 25 1 1 130 9 76 1st Winners Winners Champions League Second qualifying round
2016–17 Premier 27 23 3 1 100 16 72 2nd Runners-up Runners-up Champions League Second qualifying round
2017–18 Premier 27 21 2 4 71 19 65 1st Semi-finals Winners Europa League First qualifying round
2018–19 Premier 27 21 3 3 84 19 66 1st Second round Runners-up Champions League
Europa League
Preliminary round
Second qualifying round
2019–20 National 17 13 0 4 68 15 39 3rd Abandoned Runners-up Champions League
Europa League
Preliminary round
Second qualifying round
2020–21 National 20 15 3 2 62 13 48 1st Winners Europa League Second qualifying round
2021–22 National 20 19 1 0 65 17 58 1st Winners Runners-up Champions League
Europa League
Europa Conference League
Second qualifying round
Third qualifying round
Group stage
2022–23 National 20 17 1 2 68 14 52 1st Runners-up Winners Champions League
Europa Conference League
First qualifying round
Second qualifying round

Stadium

DSC 0286 C
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.

Honours

Lincoln Red Imps fans, 2014
Lincoln Red Imps fans at the Victoria stadium in 2014.
  • Gibraltar National League: 27
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
  • Rock Cup: 19
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
  • Pepe Reyes Cup: 12
2001, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2022

Regional

  • Gibraltar League Senior Cup: 18
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.

Overall

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 Symbol delete vote.svg
2015–16 UEFA Champions League 1Q Andorra Santa Coloma 0–0 2–1 2–1 Symbol keep vote.svg
2Q Denmark Midtjylland 0–2 0–1 0–3 Symbol delete vote.svg
2016–17 UEFA Champions League 1Q Estonia Flora Tallinn 2–0 1–2 3–2 Symbol keep vote.svg
2Q Scotland Celtic 1–0 0–3 1–3 Symbol delete vote.svg
2017–18 UEFA Europa League 1Q Cyprus AEK Larnaca 1–1 0–5 1–6 Symbol delete vote.svg
2018–19 UEFA Champions League PR San Marino La Fiorita 2–0 N/A Symbol keep vote.svg
Kosovo Drita 1–4 N/A Symbol delete vote.svg
UEFA Europa League 2Q Wales The New Saints 1–1 1–2 2–3 Symbol delete vote.svg
2019–20 UEFA Champions League PR Kosovo Feronikeli 0–1 N/A Symbol delete vote.svg
UEFA Europa League 2Q Armenia Ararat-Armenia 1–2 0–2 1–4 Symbol delete vote.svg
2020–21 UEFA Europa League PR Kosovo Prishtina 3–0
(awd.)
N/A N/A Symbol keep vote.svg
1Q Luxembourg Union Titus Pétange 2–0 N/A N/A Symbol keep vote.svg
2Q Scotland Rangers 0–5 N/A N/A Symbol delete vote.svg
2021–22 UEFA Champions League 1Q Luxembourg Fola Esch 5–0 2–2 7–2 Symbol keep vote.svg
2Q Romania CFR Cluj 1–2 0–2 1–4 Symbol delete vote.svg
UEFA Europa League 3Q Slovakia Slovan Bratislava 1–3 1–1 2–4 Symbol delete vote.svg
UEFA Europa Conference League PO Latvia Riga 3–1 (aet) 1–1 4–2 Symbol keep vote.svg
GS Denmark Copenhagen 0–4 1–3 4th place Symbol delete vote.svg
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 Symbol delete vote.svg
UEFA Europa Conference League 2Q Kazakhstan Tobol 0–1 0–2 0−3 Symbol delete vote.svg
2023–24 UEFA Champions League 1Q Azerbaijan Qarabağ 1–2 0–4 1–6 Symbol delete vote.svg
UEFA Europa Conference League 2Q Bye N/A N/A N/A Symbol keep vote.svg
3Q Kosovo Ballkani 1–3 0–2 1–5 Symbol delete vote.svg

Current squad

First team

No. Position Player
1 Spain GK Nauzet Santana
2 Spain DF Jesús Toscano
3 Gibraltar MF Kaleem Smith
4 Nigeria MF Samson Bolaji
5 Ghana DF Ibrahim Ayew
6 Gibraltar DF Bernardo Lopes (vice-captain)
7 Gibraltar FW Lee Casciaro
8 Gibraltar MF Julian Valarino
9 Bulgaria FW Kun Temenuzhkov
10 Gibraltar MF Liam Walker
11 Spain MF Juampe
13 Spain GK Iván Villanueva
14 Gibraltar DF Roy Chipolina (captain)
16 Gibraltar DF Jay Coombes
17 Spain MF Marco Rosa
19 Spain FW Juanfri
20 Ghana MF Mustapha Yahaya
No. Position Player
21 Spain DF Nano
22 Gibraltar MF Graeme Torrilla
23 Gibraltar GK Dayle Coleing
24 Gibraltar DF Jack Sergeant
26 England MF Dan Bent
27 England FW Tarik Gidaree
28 Gibraltar DF Ryan Azopardi
29 Gibraltar MF Lee Chipolina
30 Gibraltar FW Jonathan Sciortino
33 Netherlands DF Djumaney Burnet
66 Gibraltar DF Ethan Britto
69 Gibraltar DF Julian Laguea
70 Spain FW Víctor Villacañas
77 Gibraltar MF Kyle Clinton
80 Gibraltar FW Tjay De Barr
81 Gibraltar GK Lee Mifsud
88 Spain MF Mandi

Out on loan

No. Position Player
Gibraltar GK Jaylan Hankins (at Bruno's Magpies)
No. Position Player
Philippines FW Kike Gómez (at Bollullos)

Intermediate League squad

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

No. Position Player
15 Gibraltar DF Jaylen Duarte
25 Gibraltar GK Ryan Smith
26 Gibraltar DF Shane Borda
30 Gibraltar MF Jesse Clinton
32 Gibraltar MF Julian Soiza
34 Gibraltar DF Kai Villa
35 Gibraltar FW Evan Villa
36 Gibraltar DF Alex Collado
37 Gibraltar FW Leon Ramirez
38 Gibraltar MF Kaydan Rodriguez
39 Gibraltar FW Ashton Wahnon
No. Position Player
43 Gibraltar DF Lee Soiza
53 Gibraltar FW Charles Camilleri
59 Gibraltar MF Amos Federico
62 Gibraltar MF Stefan Desoiza
64 Gibraltar DF Sebastian Sun Gorny
Gibraltar DF Javan Peacock
Gibraltar MF Jayvan Garro
Gibraltar MF Jamie Golding
Gibraltar FW Kayden Gonzalez
England FW Harvey Jones-Michael

Club staff

Correct as of 25 October 2022.
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

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Lincoln Red Imps Football Club para niños

  • List of unbeaten football club seasons
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