The Political Economy of Football V2

Lincoln University's student paper looks at the financial challenges that will face Lincoln City in the Championship next season with a playing budget likely to be as small as that of Charlton this season:  https://thelinc.co.uk/2026/04/lincoln-city-finances-championship/

A former executive chairman and co-owner of Major League Baseball team the San Diego Padres is set to take a controlling stake in League One club Lincoln City. American Ron Fowler initially bought a minority interest in third-tier Lincoln in April 2024, and he is now poised to replace Arizona-based Harvey Jabara as the majority shareholder if his bid is cleared by the English Football League. Lincoln's board approved a proposal from Fowler to increase his stake - through his company Liquid Investments - to more than 25% on 11 December. Fowler, whose son Andrew is also involved in the club, will take on the position of chairman at LNER Stadium and will "assume responsibility for the funding of the club for the immediate future". The ownership shake-up at Lincoln, who are second in the table, was confirmed as a "future development" in the club's annual accounts covering the 12 months up to June 2025. controlling stake in League One club Lincoln City. Fowler wi...

Losses at Lincoln City have increased, but fans have been assured that the club is in good financial health.  Football finance guru Kieran Maguire says that the losses of just under £3m are 'mid-table' for a League One club, e.g., Charlton are thought to be losing £9m a year:  https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cn571e5n6klo

The Fair Game Index has rated the top 92 clubs in the pyramid through 80 different touchpoints across four criteria: Financial Sustainability, Good Governance, Equality Standards and Good Governance. At the moment over half of England’s top 92 clubs are technically insolvent, and a majority of Championship clubs are spending more than they earn on players’ wages. AFC Wimbledon emerge as England’s best run club with an overall score of 73.58 out of 100. The Premier League’s top club are Brentford.  Championship side Plymouth Argyle boast a perfect score in the Financial Sustainability metric, whilst League One’s Cambridge United set the standard for Good Governance. Exeter City are the highest scorers for Fan Engagement, with Lincoln taking the honours for Equality Standards. In fact, clubs in Sky Bet League’s One and Two scored higher overall across all four criteria than their counterparts in the Sky Bet Championship. The top three clubs for financial sustainability are ...

Lincoln City have published their 2021/22 accounts, reports Kieran Maguire. The Imps are losing £47k a week (many clubs at that level lose more), which is funded partly by player sales but mainly by owner contributions.  Player sale profits contributed £350k but cannot bank on such a figure as player trading volatile. Income was up to a record £6.9m following return of fans to stadium. Broadcast income down a small amount but impacted by less streaming as fans watch matches at stadium, still noticeably higher than when in League Two. Wages higher as wage cap not in existence and Lincoln now an established League One club. Lincoln’s net debt position was fairly neutral as club mainly funded by share issues.   Share issue generated £2.7m in 2021/22, almost twice as much as previous year. Advantage of shares is that there iare no interest charges and no obligation to repay.

Lincoln City have submitted plans for a £1.8m redevelopment of their West Stand which will increase capacity by 700.  The plans are in line with the club's strategy of prudent growth:  https://www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk/news/lincoln-news/lincoln-city-submit-plans-council-7852308

Over the past five years Lincoln City have risen from the National League to reach last season’s League One play-off final, with attendances more than trebling in size. The club has also earned recognition for its family and community values. Now the club has received new investment from the States, with the Phoenix, Arizona-based Jabara family taking a nine per cent stake. It is a further indication of the growing appeal of lower-league English clubs to US investors. As part of the new developments, former USA international Landon Donovan is to join Lincoln City as a strategic advisor. Lincoln City are now firmly focused on promotion to the Championship, and the new investment will go towards the first team squad, the club’s Elite Performance Centre, and a stadium expansion and upgrade. 

The chief executive of Lincoln City says that the true cost of the Covid-19 pandemic to clubs will not be known for some time.  The Imps have lost £1m in revenue, but that has been offset to some extent by cost savings resulting from putting the club into hibernation.  However, they still face a six figure loss compared to forecasts:  https://www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/lincoln-city-1million-coronavirus-efl-4211136

I don't have time to analyse the accounts of every club, so I am grateful to Kieran Maguire of the Price of Football for providing information and analysis on the 2018/19 accounts of Lincoln City. This was the year in which they were promoted to League One. The price of promotion is revealed: 'Lincoln losses more than doubled to £2.2 million in 2019. Promotion costs estimated at over £600k took up some of this as some transfers had add on clauses when club promoted. Losses high by League Two standards but within budget. Lincoln spent over £1/2 million on player signings in 2018/19 as they invested in the squad to push for promotion...and it worked.' Lincoln had one of the highest League Two income totals (please note only they and Grimsby have published 2019 accounts to date so most figures from 2018). Maguire notes, 'Lincoln matchday income up 6%, TV 11% and commercial down 9% but latter includes player sales and cup contribution from previous season. TV will be up ...

Lincoln City have published their first set of accounts since promotion back to the EFL. Income was up 13% compared to 2017 mainly due to solidarity payments from Premier League (worth about £650k) and EFL TV deal (£450k) which makes up for less progress in FA Cup than previous year. Lincoln lost £20,000 a week in League 2 compared to a profit of about the same in the National League, the previous season helped by promotion and FA Cup run. They had mainly lost money in the National League. Most clubs in the EFL are loss making. Making losses most years means either borrowing or shareholder investments to bankroll the losses. Lincoln have relied upon shareholders, including supporters, to buy shares each year to keep the club going. The absence of external loans is good news. Lincoln's overall costs up by 88% in 2017/18 which was the main cause of losses made. Player costs key issue but other overheads seemed to shoot up too. Lincoln paid out £84 in wages for every £100 of incom...