8 hours ago
1
It is this rise that has drawn backers from abroad, starting with South African Clive Nates in 2016.
High-profile American interest followed, with former United States international Landon Donovan coming in as adviser in 2021 alongside Arizona-based businessman Harvey Jabara who, in turn, helped bring former co-owner of Major League Baseball team the San Diego Padres, Ron Fowler, on board.
By the time Lincoln were on the brink of promotion this season, Fowler had upped his stakes to become chairman and majority shareholder - with a 35% stake in the club's parent company.
Fowler said there was a "David versus Goliath" appeal to Lincoln that drew the 81-year-old to a third-tier side run on a modest budget, when years earlier he was part of an American sporting franchise that was valued at $1.95bn (around £1.43bn) in 2025.
How Lincoln have been bankrolled has constantly changed - and seemingly now been supercharged - but there is no hint that the Imps will change their approach to being fiscally frugal and creatively adventurous in pursuit of success.
Skubala needs only mention Brentford - a club that curated a model for recruitment based on data that catapulted them from the lower leagues to become a Premier League mainstay - to highlight the importance of committing to an identity.
"This is a very well-run club. It knows what it is, it's always trying to find ways to punch above its weight and it's going to have to do that next season," he said.
"But look at other clubs like Brentford and what they've done, and you look at them as aspirations.
"We always talk about those type of clubs, that's probably more aligned to us than a Man United or one of the bigger clubs, so we have to look at those clubs as how we want to be.
"I'm sure there are ways and evidence in there that we can learn from.
"But I always believe when you have good people with a good plan that are hard-working, you can be successful.
"And that's what it is at Lincoln, and we're going to make sure we keep that, and keep driving that forward, and let's see what can happen."
With Jack Moylan scoring the stoppage-time winner against Reading in the game that sealed promotion to the Championship, Skubala could not help but describe it as a "fairytale" and typically-Lincoln way of getting over the line.
Moylan, who was plucked Shelbourne in the Republic of Ireland's top-flight in January 2024, is Lincoln's joint top scorer this term - alongside 28-year-old former Portsmouth winger Reeco Hackett - despite having spent three months out after undergoing ankle surgery in August.
"When he scores that goal he epitomises not just Jack and his journey, he epitomises the journey of the club," Skubala said.
"We want to develop players and prove that we can have a model that supports young players by also putting older players around them.
"And for me, the biggest thing is never giving up. We always talk about never losing football matches, we just run out of time trying."
