Lincoln City F.C.

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…

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…

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…