its old brand Mercialys. Sponsorship Casino Group created a Company Foundation which supports childhood development by fighting against the cultural exclusion of the under-privileged. The Casino Corporate Foundation contributes to their education by funding theatre projects. Founded in 2009, the Casino Foundation complements the other foundations of Casino Group present in France and in Latin America: the Exito Foundation in Colombia created in 1985, mainly engaged against child malnutrition, the GPA Institute which fosters youth education and their professional insertion and the Monoprix Foundation which fights against isolation in cities. Casino and the world of sport Casino and sport association Casino Group is at the origin of the AS Saint-Étienne football Club created in 1919, the Sports Social Club of Saint-Étienne. It was born more precisely as a sports section of the « Employees’ Social Club of the Casino store company », the organization created in 1912 by Casino to support its sports corporatism policy. The Social Club logically takes on board the green colour of the grocery chain. A few months after the creation of the French Football Association-Federation (FFAF), the Social Club, more commonly named « AS Casino » (ASC), opened its football section in 1919, as well as other disciplines such as athletics and basketball. On 29 March 1920, under the initiative of Albert Jacquet, general secretary of the company, AS Casino became « the Social Sports Club » in order to respect the rules adopted by the Federation prohibiting the use of brands in the names of clubs, as well as keeping the initials. The club was then reserved to Casino employees and the training centre was located on the « Pont de l'âne » field, property of the Group. Seven years later, under the initiative of Pierre Guichard, son of Geoffroy Guichard who had become president of the club after MM. Godot and Jean Moulin, the Social Sports Club merged with the University Forez Stadium within the « Stéphanoise Sports Association » (SSA), which kept of course the green colour of the ASC. In 1930, the French Federation voted for the adoption of professionalism in France. It became necessary for the SSA, whose managers were ambitious, to have its own stadium. The founder of Casino Group purchased a large field and gave it to the club. A membership offered to « friends » of the club helped gather the necessary funds to build the first