Lincoln City F.C.

History

Football in the city of Lincoln had been prominent since the 1860s although not strictly connected to the modern day club. After the disbanding of Lincoln Rovers (formerly Lincoln Recreation) in 1884, Lincoln City FC was formed as an amateur football association, and the first game Lincoln played was an emphatic 9–1 victory over local rivals Sleaford, on 4 October 1884. Originally they played at the John O'Gaunts ground, provided by wealthy local brewer Robert Dawber.

Lincoln turned professional in the 1891–92 season, and soon helped to form what was then the Second Division in 1892–93 season, as an increasing number of clubs wished to join the Football League. Their first game in the Football League was a 4–2 away defeat to Sheffield United on 3 September 1892. Their first home game was also against Sheffield United, this time, however, Lincoln won 1–0. Due to Dawber's death in 1895, Lincoln moved from the John O'Gaunts Ground to Sincil Bank. On 2 September 1899, Lincoln became only the third club to be represented by a Black player in an English Football League game when John Walker made his debut for them in a home game against Middlesbrough.

They failed re-election to the Football League in 1908. They won immediate re-election after winning the next year's Midland League, and would repeat this feat after failing re-election again in 1911 and 1920. Founder members of the Football League Third Division North in 1921, they won promotion as champions in 1931–32, but were relegated two seasons later. Crowned Third Division North champions again in 1947–48, they were relegated the next year, but would remain in the second tier for nine seasons after again winning the Third Division North title in 1951–52. Two successive relegations left them in the Fourth Division by 1962, where they would remain until Graham Taylor's title winning campaign of 1975–76. The next would oscillate between the Third and Fourth division for the next 10 years, missing out on promotion to the Second Division in 1982 and 1983.

Lincoln were relegated to the Fourth Division at the end of the 1985–86 season, and the year after that they became the first team to suffer automatic relegation from the Football League. They regained their Football League place automatically via promotion as champions of the Conference at the first attempt. In the 1997–98 season, Lincoln were promoted from the Third Division (previously the Fourth Division), but were immediately relegated back on the next season. On 3 May 2002 Lincoln entered into administration. Lincoln City were relegated again from League Two on the last day of the end of the 2010–11 season after a home defeat to Aldershot Town.

Stadium

The club have played at Sincil Bank since 1895. Previously, Lincoln City had played at the nearby John O'Gaunts ground since the club's 1884 inception. Sincil Bank has an overall capacity of 11,400 and is colloquially known to fans as "The Bank". Former Lincoln City chairman John Reames re-purchased the ground from the local council in 2000 at a cost of £175,000; the club had sold it in 1982 for £225,000 to fend off the threat of eviction, arranging a 125-year lease. In 2026, the stadium underwent a multi-million pound redevelopment as part of the “Imps Territory” project which saw the removal of the Executive Boxes in the Rilmac to host new upper-tier seating and a new elevated (up to) 500 capacity hospitality area, New red seats within the GreenLinc Renewables and Stacey West stands, a new covered fan village located behind the Rilmac Stand, a new big-screen scoreboard in the north west corner of the stadium as well as a compete facelift of the current layout giving the stadium a red and anthracite-grey theme. During this period, it increased the capacity of the stadium to 11,400.

Sincil Bank hosted England U16's 2–0 win over the Scotland U16 team in the Victory Shield on 28 November 2008. Martin Peters paraded the FIFA World Cup Trophy at the ground in March 2010 as part of its global tour. FA WSL club Lincoln Ladies played home games at Sincil Bank in their 2011 season. The Ladies' club had previously hosted Arsenal Ladies there in an FA Women's Cup semi-final in March 2008.

Rivals

Lincoln City is one of four professional football clubs in Lincolnshire. Lincoln City are a football club who find themselves with no clear and direct rival. Fans of the club consider both Grimsby Town and Scunthorpe United to be their biggest rivals. which at various points fans have considered one bigger than the other. This is largely requited by fans of those two

clubs who consider each other and Hull City to be their biggest rivals, viewing their rivalry with Lincoln as more minor. Other prominent Lincolnshire rivals of the past include Gainsborough Trinity and Boston United, however, meetings between the clubs are limited nowadays due to contrasting league fortunes.

Nottinghamshire clubs Mansfield Town and Notts County are also considered rivals, and Peterborough United, Hull City and York City are clubs that have had some sort of rivalry with The Imps in the past. Lincoln United, the other football club based in Lincoln, are further down the footballing pyramid and are not a considered rival.

Style of play and analytics

Since around 2024, Lincoln built a data and AI driven approach to set pieces, with chief executive Liam Scully describing artificial intelligence as a central to the club's performance work. The club worked with data analyst Chris Howarth's Insight Sport platform, which analysed more than ten million free kicks and corners to identify patterns that could raise Lincoln's set pieces conversion rate, including which zones to target, delivery type and penalty-box occupancy. This helped improve their corner conversion from roughly one goal from every 33 to about one in 16, and during their 2025-2026 League One title-winning season, Lincoln outscored Arsenal from set pieces despite Arsenal's own set piece methods attracting far greater attention.

Sporting director Jez George said pre-match reports identified opposition set piece tendencies for the coaching staff to exploit. Data scientist Metin Yarici took over development of the club's in-house data and AI models after set piece coach Scott Fry departed for Rangers and Everton's owner bought Howarth's company in 2025. Analytics also inform recruitment, with AI based tools used to identify undervalued players in overlooked markets, including Ukrainian under-21 international Ivan Varfolomeev. The approach has been credited with helping Lincoln reach the Championship for the first time in 65 years in 2026 while recording a financial loss of around £2 million during their promotion season, well below the typical loss for a promoted League One club.

Badge and colours

Badge

Lincoln City currently sport a "traditional" Lincoln Imp badge, synonymous with the success of the 1970s and 1980s. The badge was returned in 2014, with general manager John Vickers billing it the start of a "new era". Between the two spells the club used two badges, the first of which being the city's heraldic shield with the letters "L.C.F.C" inscribed onto it. This badge was used until 2001, when the club used a similar design; however, it featured a yellow imp in the centre, with the nickname of "The Imps" written across.

Colours

Traditionally, the colours and design of the Lincoln City strip are a red and white striped shirt along with black shorts and red socks. This varied in the late 1960s and early 70s, the club opted to field a predominantly red strip with white shorts, and also in the 2000–01 season when the shirt was quartered red and white with white shorts. Currently, the home kit is largely red with white pinstriping down the length of the shirt, as well as black and white accents around the collar and cuff of the shirt. The shorts of the kit are also largely black, sporting red accents, and the socks red with black and white accents. Their away kit has never retained any single pattern or design, and areas varied vastly throughout the seasons, but is currently black across the shirt, shorts and socks with red accents on the edges of each piece. In recent years, the club have also released a third kit. Currently, the kit is green in colour, with a chevron pattern across it. This kit features white accents on the shirt, and white shorts with green accents.

Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors

The following tables detail the kit suppliers and sponsors of Lincoln City by year:

Current squad

First team

As of 3 September 2026

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

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

Club management

Club officials

As of 24 July 2026

Owners:

Lincoln City Holdings Ltd; 93.73%

Board:

Chairman: Ron Fowler

Vice Chairman: Jay Wright

Chief Executive and Board Safeguarding Champion: Liam Scully

Directors: Andrew Fowler • Harvey Jabara • David Lowes • Sean Melnick • Clive Nates • Graham Rossini

Supporter elected director: Phil Scrafton

First team staff

As of 21 July 2026

Former players and managers

Former players

A list of former players can be found at List of Lincoln City F.C. players.

Notable managers

Only managers with over 200 games in charge are included. For the complete list see List of Lincoln City F.C. managers.

Honours

Lincoln City's honours include:

League

Third Division North / League One (level 3)

Champions: 1931–32, 1947–48, 1951–52, 2025–26

Runners-up: 1927–28, 1930–31, 1936–37

Fourth Division / Third Division / League Two (level 4)

Champions: 1975–76, 2018–19

Runners-up: 1980–81

Promoted: 1997–98

Football Conference / National League (level 5)

Champions: 1987–88, 2016–17

Midland League / Central League

Champions: 1889–90, 1908–09, 1911–125, 1920–21

Runners-up: 1932–33

Cup

Football League / EFL Trophy

Winners: 2017–18

Runners-up: 1982–83

Conference Championship Shield

Winners: 1988

Minor

Lincolnshire Senior Cup

Winners (38): 1886–87, 1890–91, 1891–92, 1893–94, 1907–08, 1909–10, 1911–12, 1913–14, 1914–15, 1919–20, 1921–22, 1923–24, 1925–26, 1926–27, 1930–31, 1931–32, 1933–34, 1934–35, 1945–46, 1947–48, 1948–49, 1950–51, 1955–566, 1961–62, 1963–646, 1965–666, 1966–67, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1974–75, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1984–85, 1990–91, 1997–98, 2004–05, 2006–07, 2009–10, 2013–14

Runners-up (32): 1892–93, 1894–95, 1896–97, 1900–01, 1902–03, 1903–04, 1908–09, 1912–13, 1920–21, 1922–23, 1925–26, 1927–28, 1928–29, 1929–30, 1932–33, 1935–36, 1936–37, 1937–38, 1946–47, 1949–50, 1951–52, 1954–55, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1976–77, 1978–79, 1985–86, 2007–08, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2014–15

Pontin's Reserve League Cup

Winners: 2006–07

Fred Green Memorial Trophy3

Winners: 2006–07

John Reames Memorial Trophy

Winners: 2013–14

Club records

Highest league finish: 5th in Second Division (level 2), 1901–02

Best FA Cup performance: Quarter-finals, 2016–17

Best League Cup performance: Fourth round, 1967–68, 2022–23

Longest unbeaten run: 29 games – 29 November 2025 to 2 May 2026

Record league attendance: 23,146 vs. Grimsby Town, 5 March 1949

Record cup attendance: 23,196 vs. Derby County, 15 November 1967

Record transfer fee paid: Mikkel Ladefoged– £4,300,000 to Västerås SK, 2026

Record transfer fee received: Jack Moylan – £5,000,000 from Cardiff City, 2026

Record league victory: 11–1 v. Crewe Alexandra (Home), Football League, 29 September 1951

Record appearances: Grant Brown – 469

Record goal scorer: Andy Graver – 143 (1950–55, 1958–61)

Record goals in one season: Allan Hall – 45 (1931–32)

Youngest player: Shane Nicholson – 16 years and 112 days v. Charlton Athletic, 23 September 1986, League Cup

Oldest player: Albert Iremonger – 42 years and 312 days v. Doncaster Rovers, 23 April 1927, Football League

Source