Lincoln Red Imps bid farewell to Champions League but look ahead to bonus summer

Lincoln Red Imps met their bogey team as they faced Qarabag for the second consecutive season, resulting in a similar outcome as before. Buoyed by their victory over Hamrun Spartans, which secured them a place in the second round of the Champions League and extended their run in European club football beyond the previous season, Lincoln Red Imps were aware that their progress in the Champions League would likely be short-lived.
Qarabag had demonstrated their superiority the previous season, and little had changed to suggest a different outcome. The first leg tie at Europa Point provided ample evidence that their trip to Azerbaijan for the second leg would mark their farewell from the Champions League this summer.
The prediction proved accurate, with Lincoln Red Imps trailing from early on in the match. A three-goal deficit at halftime made it a near-impossible challenge.
However, this was not the end of Lincoln Red Imps’ journey through European club football this summer. At least four more matches await them, starting with the next round of the Europa League, and potentially more in the Europa Conference League if needed. With the prospect of significant payouts in the upcoming rounds, Lincoln Red Imps will be keen to deliver performances that could see them replicate their achievement as the first Gibraltar club to play in a group stage competition in the Conference League.
In a week marked by the club submitting plans for their proposed new premises, highlighting their growth as a professional football club in Gibraltar and their continued focus on youth development, Lincoln Red Imps are looking forward to another financially successful year. Based on the figures for 2023/24, Lincoln Red Imps will receive at least €380,000 after being eliminated in the second round of the Champions League. They will also receive payments based on their 10-year coefficient ranking and a share in the market pool, which depends on the value of the TV market in their country.
Progressing to the Europa League guarantees them a third qualifying round elimination payment of €550,000, with a further share from the market pool for the Europa League. If they advance to the play-offs, this amount increases to €750,000.
Should they be eliminated in the third qualifying round of the Europa League, Lincoln will enter the UEFA Conference League play-offs, guaranteeing them at least €750,000, plus a share of the market pool. If successful in the play-offs, they could earn a participation bonus of €2.94 million by entering the group stage of the competition.
Success in the play-offs would also open opportunities for group stage performance bonuses, with €500,000 for a win and €166,000 for a draw, plus an additional €650,000 for group winners and €325,000 for runners-up.
The club is also preparing for the debut of its Under-17s in the UEFA Youth League, following a successful domestic youth league campaign. The coming weeks will be particularly challenging, with the domestic league starting early on August 18. Lincoln faces the prospect of playing two matches a week, compounded by the Nations League’s schedule.
As with their previous success in reaching the group stages of the Conference League, a similar achievement this year could lead to a hectic three to four months of football. While financially beneficial for the club and players, this schedule could stretch the club’s resources as they also aim for another domestic title to secure a place in next year’s Champions League first round qualifiers.

Images by Brandon Avellano