Founded in 1946 and refounded in 1983, the club was promoted to La Liga for the first time in 2004, and participated in the top level of Spanish football for twelve years between 2004 and 2016, and again since 2017.

After the Spanish Civil War, in 1945 five Getafe locals – Enrique Condes García, Aurelio Miranda Olavaria, Antonio Corredor Lozano, Manuel Serrano Vergara and Miguel Cubero Francés – while meeting at La Marquesina bar, decided to form a local team.

[5] Based on the merger the previous year, the present Getafe Club de Fútbol was officially founded on 8 July 1983, after passing through assembly.

[6] Threatening absolute disappearance just a few years later in 1997, Getafe survived relegation into the fourth level Tercera División following a two-legged playoff victory over Huesca.

At the top of the table for most of the year, the side travelled to the Canary Islands on the final matchday needing a win to assure a historic promotion to La Liga, the top-flight.

[15] During the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Argentine-born Mariano Pernía became Getafe's first Spanish international,[16] before moving to Atlético Madrid.

[17] In 2006–07, Getafe again finished ninth in the league,[18] conceding only 33 goals in 38 matches and goalkeeper Roberto Abbondanzieri was awarded the Zamora Trophy, having recorded 12 clean sheets.

Contra put Getafe ahead just before half-time, but in the 89th minute, Franck Ribéry equalized to send the match into extra time.

Getafe generally fill the stadium for local matches against Real and Atlético Madrid, as well as against Barcelona, most famously in the 2006–07 Cup semi-final.

For the first time in their history, Getafe pre-sold out the whole of the Coliseum before their second leg match against Bayern Munich in the UEFA Cup quarter-final.

[29] Getafe club president Ángel Torres expressed interest in upgrading the Coliseum to a much greater 20,000-seat arena, in conjunction with Madrid's bid for the 2012 Olympic Games.

Commonly called Marea Azul, or Azulones, Getafe supporters have steadily increased in number with the success of the team in recent years.

Former Real Madrid player Francisco Pavón is a well-known Getafe socio, while Fernando Alonso and Rafael Nadal have attended matches at the Coliseum in the past.

Getafe supporters have grown far beyond the local area and are now known to have fans in Australia, Sweden, Finland, Czech Republic, Argentina, Scotland, Denmark, the United States and Mexico.

Getafe also created some controversy in 2007 when their season ticket campaign included biblical references of Abraham, Moses and Jesus sacrificing themselves for the team.

Prior to the 2007 Cup final, Torres implored the fans to "tear down the Cibelina" upon victory, promising to pay for a new design.

In 2011, Getafe released a humorous tongue-in-cheek advertising campaign, pretending to decry the club's relatively small fanbase and encouraging male supporters to donate sperm in order to breed more fans.

In the first division, the side has held some exciting matches in the last few years with Real Madrid, with the ledger being most recently squared at three wins each.

Real Madrid's much greater stature, huge budget and expensive squad has never stopped Getafe from rising to the challenge and often playing their best football against their "bigger brother".

In addition to this, Getafe has developed somewhat of a rivalry with Barcelona, which culminated in their famous 4–0 victory over their more fancied opponents during the 2006–07 Copa del Rey semi-final.

This rivalry is propped up healthily by the regular transfer of Getafe players (and head coach Quique Sánchez Flores) to Valencia.