Founded in 1921 in Ploiești, Prahova County, as "Clubul Sportiv Astra-Română", the team has spent the majority of its history in the lower leagues. Astra only began to achieve success in the late 1990s under the ownership of businessman Ioan Niculae, having reached the top of the Romanian league system for the first time in 1998. In September 2012, after more than nine decades in Ploiești, it moved its home ground south to Giurgiu, a city at the border with Bulgaria. On short notice, the club managed its most notable performance after head coach Marius Șumudică ended a three-year successful run of FC Steaua București and won the national championship in the 2015–16 season.