Colchester United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Colchester, Essex, that was founded in 1937. From the 1937–38 season, the club played in the Southern Football League until 1950, when they were elected to the Football League. After playing in the Third Division South for eight seasons, Colchester remained in the Third Division when the league was re-organised by finishing 12th in 1958. The club were relegated to the Fourth Division in 1961, but made an immediate return to the Third Division after finishing the 1961–62 season in second position, one point behind Millwall. They bounced between the Third and Fourth divisions until 1990, when the club were relegated from the Football League for the first time in 40 years. After two seasons in the Football Conference, the U's were promoted back to the Football League after winning the Conference title on goal difference over Wycombe Wanderers in 1992. Colchester played in the Third Division between 1992 and 1998, when they won promotion to the Second Division after a play-off final win against Torquay United at Wembley. The club remained in the third tier until 2006, as they were promoted to the Championship, the second tier of English football, for the first time in their history, ending the season as runners up in League One to Southend United. The U's spent two seasons in the Championship, earning their highest-ever league finish of 10th position in the second tier before being relegated back to League One in 2008. Following relegation to League Two at the end of the 2015–16 season, Colchester made a return to the fourth tier of English football for the first time in 18-years.
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Colchester United's first team have competed in leagues in five different tiers of English football, and their record against each club faced in those competitions is summarised below. Colchester's first ever league game was contested on 28 August 1937 in the Southern League against Yeovil & Petters United. Their first Football League encounter came against Gillingham on 19 August 1950 in the Third Division South. During the 2015–16 season, the club met their 145th and most recent different league opponent Burton Albion. They met their 146th and 147th different league rivals in the 2016–17 season when they faced Accrington Stanley in their current guise, and Morecambe in League Two. Colchester have met Gillingham 76 times in the Football League and Southern League, more than any other team. They have also recorded more league victories against Gillingham than any other team, beating them 29 times from 76 games, and also hold the greatest number of draws, with 24 matches drawn between the sides. Peterborough United have defeated Colchester more times than any other team, recording 31 victories in 70 encounters. Colchester United hold a 100% win record against five different clubs; Boston United, Folkestone Town, Gateshead, Slough Town and Sutton United. Only Accrington Stanley, Burton Albion, Manchester City and Middlesbrough have a 100% win record against the U's.