Lincoln City celebrated their 140th anniversary this week, as they turn their attention towards the upcoming season.
Wednesday, June 26, was an important day in the EFL, with it marking the release of fixtures for next season. However, for Lincoln City, it was an even bigger occasion. It marked 140 years since the club was founded, in 1884
The club celebrated with an event featuring former players, including record appearance maker Grant Brown, club stalwarts like Chris Ashton, fans, and obviously, cake.
140 Years of History:
Lincoln City CEO Liam Scully spoke to reporter Jamie Johnson on the day, and said: “When you come and be part of a football club, and I hope I’m here for a long time, but you know and you realise it’s a mere blip, even if you’re here for 10,15, 20 years, it’s a mere dot on the history of the football club.”
The Imps past has seen many an up, and many a down, but have found themselves as a secure SkyBet League One club over recent seasons. They narrowly missed out on a spot in the play-offs last season, losing on the final day to champions Portsmouth.
The club’s darkest day, the loss of two Imps fans (Bill Stacey and Jim West) during the 1985 Valley Parade Fire at Bradford City, was remembered during the birthday proceedings.
Club captain Paudie O’Connor said the anniversary gave him a real sense of pride heading into the 2024/25 campaign.
Speaking during the anniversary, he added: “It just shows you the history of the football club, that it’s been in the city for that long, and you think of how many players have passed through and played for it.”
Opening of New Community Hub:
The 140th birthday did not just come on the same day as the EFL fixture list announcement for the upcoming season, but also the opening of Lincoln City’s new community hub.
The club’s Foundation opened what has been described as a “game-changing” new home for the charity’s community hub in and around Lincoln.
City’s chief executive Scully said: “For us, the timing of this was so brilliant. Hopefully it’s a real statement of both our ambition, but how we want to deliver our ambition. We want to be successful, we want to be entrepreneurial, embrace innovation, but we also want to be respectful of the history.”
The Lincoln City Foundation offers everything from English language lessons for immigrants to support for people recovering from cancer.
Lincoln City’s Future Looks Bright – Opinion:
The opening of City’s new Co-op Community Hub shows a commitment to helping the people of Lincoln in the years to come, something that the club is keen to do.
The fact that it came on the same day that Lincoln City celebrated its 140th birthday was a poignant moment, tying together the history of the football club with the future of its community work.
On field, Michael Skubala’s Imps are impressing, but they are doing so off-field as well.