FC Pirin One of FC Pirin Blagoevgrad's predecessors, FC Pirin, was founded in 1922. FC Pirin has played more than 20 seasons in the top flight and has competed twice in the European football competitions with one participation in the
UEFA Cup and one participation in the
Cup Winners' Cup respectively. The club's first participation in the
UEFA tournaments was not promising. In 1985, Pirin faced the then reigning
Swedish champion
Hammarby IF. The first game in
Blagoevgrad, ended with a 1–3 loss. The second game in
Sweden was also a defeat – 0–4 and Pirin were out of the European competitions. Pirin's best season in the
Bulgarian top division was in the 1984–85 season, where they finished at 5th place at the end of the season. The club was also three times runner-up of the
Bulgarian Cup. Also, Pirin's youth academy is attributed as being one of the best developers of young and unknown players in
Bulgaria. Among the club's famous players are
Dimitar Berbatov,
Spas Delev,
Petar Mihtarski,
Ivaylo Andonov,
Ivan Tsvetkov,
Vladislav Zlatinov and
Petar Zlatinov. On August 18, 2006, after failing to arrange some debts and signals of corruption, Pirin was expelled from the
A PFG, the team's results for the season were annulled, and the club was relegated to the
Bulgarian South-West V AFG. However, after two years, Pirin won the South-West V AFG and the club returned for the upcoming season of the
Western B PFG.
Unification In December 2008,
Pirin, which competed in the
Western B PFG, was merged with
PFC Pirin Blagoevgrad, (former FC Makedonska Slava), which played in the
A PFG after a significant pressure from the supporters in the town. The new club was named
FC Pirin Blagoevgrad and was soon proclaimed as a holder of the club records of the former FC Pirin, which competed for more than 20 seasons in the top flight. FC Pirin's
West B PFG place was taken by
FC Bansko. Then, Nikolay Galchev appointed
Petar Mihtarski as a manager of the club. A few months later, under
Naci Şensoy's management, the successes followed-up and Pirin qualified for the final of the
Bulgarian Cup, eliminating subsequently on their way
CSKA Sofia and
Levski Sofia. In the final match played at the
Georgi Asparuhov Stadium in
Sofia, Pirin were eliminated after a 3–0 defeat against
Litex Lovech.
OFK Pirin In the foremath of the 2011–12 season, Pirin Blagoevgrad failed to receive a professional license for the
A Group. However, due to their financial struggles they were also rejected to participate in the
South-West V AFG. Later that year, they acquired the license of Perun Kresna. The team finished 2011-12 season as Perun, but for 2012-13 the team was renamed to
Obshtinski futbolen klub Pirin (), meaning
Pirin Minicipal Football Club, as the club was owned by
Blagoevgrad Municipality. In 2015, the club achieved promotion to the
A Group after a four-year absence from top-flight football. The 2015-16 season ended in an 8th place finish out of 10 teams in a modified season format. The next season (
2016–17), Pirin again managed to avoid relegation. However the team was relegated from the A Group after the 2017-18 season. On 11 June 2019, OFK Pirin secured a one-year sponsorship agreement and advertising partnership with the investment company
Emirates Wealth EAD. In July,
Blagoevgrad Municipality approved a business plan by the company discussing the future development of the club, in particular the partnership between the two sides, phases in acquiring participatory management, investment schemes, club finances and aims. The plan saw Emirates Wealth EAD become a majority owner, as it acquired 75% of the OFK Pirin's shares, with 25% remaining in Blagoevgrad Municipality's ownership. Part of obtaining participatory management saw the creation of a new association, a joint-stock company named
Futbolen klub Pirin AD (), meaning
Pirin Football Club, where OFK Pirin, owned by the municipality, was merged into. In 2021, Pirin managed to return to the First League after three years of absence. After three seasons in the First League, Pirin was relegated back to the Second League at the conclusion of the
2023–24 season. ==Colours and badge==