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'''Southend United Football Club''' is a professional [[association football]] club based in [[Southend-on-Sea]], [[Essex]], England, which competes in the [[National League (English football)|National League]], the fifth [[English football league system|level of English football]]. The team are known as "The Shrimpers", a reference to the area's maritime industry that is included as one of the quarters on the club badge. The club has a long-standing rivalry with nearby [[Colchester United F.C.|Colchester United]], with which it contests the [[Essex derby]].
Founded on 19 May 1906 in the Blue Boar pub, Southend won the [[Southern Football League|Southern League]] Second Division in both of its two initial seasons and was admitted into the [[English Football League|Football League]] in 1920. It spent the next 44 years in the third tier of English football, before dropping into the [[Football League Fourth Division|Fourth Division]] in 1966. They spent the next 24 years moving between the third and fourth tiers, winning promotions in 1971–72, 1977–78, 1980–81 (as champions), 1986–87 and 1989–90. They were promoted into the [[Football League Second Division|Second Division]] for the first time at the end of the 1990–91 season. After six seasons in the second tier they suffered a double relegation in 1997 and 1998. Under manager [[Steve Tilson]], Southend again secured a double promotion in 2004–05 and 2005–06 to win a place in the [[EFL Championship|Championship]] as [[EFL League One|League One]] champions. However, they only lasted one season in the second tier and then, after two top half League One finishes, were relegated back to League Two in 2010. They secured promotion as play-off winners in 2015, but suffered another double relegation in 2020 and 2021,
The club is based at [[Roots Hall Stadium]] in [[Prittlewell]], but since 1998—when property developer [[Ron Martin (businessman)|Ron Martin]], later chairman, took ownership—had been planning to move to a proposed new stadium at [[Fossetts Farm Stadium|Fossetts Farm]]. In March 2023, Martin put Southend United up for sale. A deal was provisionally agreed with a consortium led by Australian businessman Justin Rees in October 2023. The takeover involved the club staying at Roots Hall, and was completed in July 2024.
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