Astra Ploiești only began to achieve success in the late 1990s under the ownership of businessman Ioan Niculae, having reached the top flight for the first time in the 1998–99 season.

[3] On short notice, Astra became a prominent figure in Romanian football and head coach Marius Șumudică won it the 2015–16 national title.

After losing the financial support of its owner Niculae, in October 2022 the team withdrew from the Liga III championship and was subsequently dissolved.

Astra Giurgiu played its first European match ever in first qualification round of UEFA Europa League against Domžale, winning 1–0 in the first leg.

In the play-off round, Astra met Olympique Lyonnais, defeating them away in Lyon in a 2–1 win, with Kehinde Fatai and Constantin Budescu scoring the goals of victory.

On 2 October 2014, Astra played Red Bull Salzburg one of the most important matches held on Marin Anastasovici Stadium in Giurgiu.

On matchday 4, Astra hold Celtic in a 1–1 draw at Giurgiu, with William Amorim scoring the equaliser that brought their first group stage point.

On matchday 5, Astra won 1–0 against Dinamo Zagreb with Sadat Bukari's winner, and secured its first ever victory in the Europa League group stages.

A surprising 2–2 draw at London, followed by a 2–1 victory in Giurgiu,[16][17] qualified Astra for the play-off round, where they faced Dutch club AZ.

A 3–2 home victory for Giurgiu was not enough to see Astra qualified to the group stage as AZ won the reverse match in Alkmaar 2–0, thus ending the club's European campaign.

Despite having a poor start which included a severe 1–5 defeat from vice-champions ASA Targu Mures, the Astralii managed to finish the regular seasons champions.

During this time, however, manager Marius Șumudică was convicted of betting on domestic matches,[19] prompting his suspension by Romanian FA for the remainder of the season.

[22] Astra reached the play-off round of the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League and faced West Ham, which they also met – and defeated – one year prior.

However, a fantastic streak of 8 consecutive wins[26] allowed the Giurgiu club to finish 3rd in the regular season, and to qualify for the play-offs of 2016–17 Liga 1.

In the summer of 2017, head coach Șumudică left Astra Giurgiu after his contract expired and was replaced by Edward Iordănescu, and also the first-team squad was almost entirely changed.

They faced Ukrainian club FC Oleksandriya, and after an uneventful 0–0 draw at Giurgiu, Astra were beaten 1–0 in Ukraine in the last match ever played in an international competition.

Despite a solid campaign, after a surprise elimination from the quarter-finals of the Romanian Cup and public criticism from the owner for the boring style of play, Edi Iordanescu resigned from the job with 8 games left.

A few days later, owner Ioan Niculae announced that Astra Giurgiu managed to buy back their former star attacker, Denis Alibec, for 1 million euros, from FCSB, where he was excluded from the team after a fallout.

After many financial problems, the players protested in the media, openly criticizing the owner Ioan Niculae for not paying their wages, and boycotted training.

In extra time, Astra changed the system to five defenders but still conceded a goal and lost their second final in the last three years, losing the chance to play in the Europa League next season.

Astra was even docked three points, and failed to win any of their last four games of the regular season, barely qualifying for the play-offs, after a lucky draw against Sepsi OSK in which they scored 2 goals in only one minute.

But, during the COVID-19 quarantine, disappointment struck again, because, for financial reasons, Astra Giurgiu failed to gain the European license, meaning that they couldn't play in the Europa League next season.

Although the team was heavily held back by its money problems and had potential to achieve even more, Astra had a great campaign, finishing in third place and losing only one game at home all season.

As a result of the club's worsening financial difficulties, Astra's focus shifted from progressing to European competitions to simply remaining in the top league for the new season.

The club was also at risk of relegation due to doping charges, with three of their key players, Ioniță, Seto, and Fatai, being investigated for using illegal methods of vitaminization.

Astra played its home matches in Giurgiu at the Marin Anastasovici Stadium, which had a current capacity of approximately 8,500 spectators.

Most Astra fans considered Petrolul as their main rivals, however Lupii galbeni regard Rapid București as their principal arch-enemies.