AS Monacœur: how AS Monaco shapes the Principality, one initiative at a time
AS Monaco players display the AS Monacœur logo on the back of their shirts © AS Monaco
In less than ten years, AS Monacœur has become much more than a community programme.
Launched in 2018 by club President Dmitry Rybolovlev, AS Monacœur is AS Monaco’s social engagement programme. It brings together all the club’s solidarity actions under a single banner built around four pillars: outreach, education, health and the environment.
Less than ten years later, the programme has established itself as a reference point for the local area: more than 100 projects are carried out each year in an exceptionally small territory, reaching over 10,000 children annually — a rarely-achieved scale of impact in French football. The initiative, born out of the conviction that football can change lives, is also visible on the European stage: for the past two seasons, AS Monacœur has appeared on the back of the club’s European shirt.
Outreach: meeting families who can’t travel to the stadium
The first pillar, outreach, rests on the idea that not everyone can get to the Stade Louis-II, but the club can go out to meet everyone. The Kids Tour is the most obvious example. Since 2022, the tour has travelled across towns in the PACA region and more recently to municipalities in Liguria, where AS Monaco has a loyal fanbase.
At each stop, a town square, a port or a pitch is transformed into a mini Louis-II. Children rush in, families gather and, crucially, players from the professional team or the Academy take part, sign autographs and pose for photos. Their presence often makes all the difference. Over three editions, more than 10,000 children have taken part in the Kids Tour.
The Summer Village at Port Hercule builds on this momentum with a 3×3 pitch, sports workshops and meet-and-greets with players. Five weeks of free activities attracted thousands of families in 2025.
Education: passing on values rather than instructions
The Munegu Cup has become an unmissable event for CE2/Year 4/Grade 3 classes in the Principality. Each year, nearly 400 pupils walk onto the pitch at the Stade Louis-II, discover the dressing rooms and, through sport, learn about the values that the club wishes to promote. Organised in collaboration with the Department of Education, Youth and Sports (DENJS), the competition represents a genuine educational project. Rémy Garoscio, from the DENJS, put it this way: “The Munegu Cup is above all an educational project. It teaches solidarity, humility and perseverance.”
At the most recent edition, President Rybolovlev himself presented the trophy to the Saint-Charles school team, alongside captain Denis Zakaria — a further demonstration that the club’s leadership is directly involved in this aspect.
The ÜNSEME programme, developed with the Ligue Méditerranée de Football, the District de la Côte d’Azur de Football and several municipalities in PACA and Liguria, creates lasting ties with amateur clubs. The club explained: “The programme was born from a desire to support clubs in our region and share our expertise.”
The ÜNSEME Cup brings together teenagers from dozens of municipalities each year. For some, it is their first experience inside a professional club’s facilities. The Tous au Stade initiative, carried out in conjunction with the Ligue Méditerranée and the District Côte d’Azur, has allowed more than 5,000 young licence holders — including 2,500 at AS Monaco v Strasbourg in April 2025 — to attend a Ligue 1 match free of charge.
Health: fostering courage when it is lacking
The health pillar reflects the most touching aspect of AS Monacœur. For several years, the club has had close ties with the Princess Grace Hospital (CHPG), particularly its paediatrics ward. Visits have become an eagerly awaited ritual. Last February, former striker Breel Embolo and the club’s CEO Thiago Scuro spent an entire morning there. The player said at the time: “Times like these are more important than football.”
The partnership with the CHPG also includes the delivery of the club’s newborn gift boxes to all babies born to Monegasque parents or residents of the Principality since January 2024. The initiative underscores the club’s commitment from the very first moments of life in Monaco.
The club also takes part each year in the blood donation initiative organised at the CHPG, now a key event. Renewed for the fourth consecutive year and firmly embedded in the Red & Whites’ institutional calendar, the donation drive is essential for a territory that requires between 4,500 and 5,000 blood bags annually.
“AS Monaco’s support is important,” said Dr Mélanie Rinaudo, Head of the CHPG blood transfusion centre. “Our collaboration with the club enables us to run a successful drive, backed by awareness campaigns that lead to an increase in spontaneous appointment bookings in the following weeks.”
The club also supports local health-focused charities. The Flavien Foundation, at the forefront of the fight against childhood cancer, was highlighted during a match against Nantes in February 2025 as part of International Childhood Cancer Day. Players wore a special shirt featuring the foundation’s logo, while awareness messages were broadcast throughout the match.
Similarly, the Monegasque charity Écoute Cancer Réconfort was honoured during the home match against Toulouse in October 2025 as part of the Pink October campaign. Valérie Barilaro, the charity’s president, who provides support and comfort to people affected by cancer, took the ceremonial kick-off. Players wore a special pink t-shirt during the warm-up, and the whole club delegation wore pink ribbons to raise awareness of breast cancer screening.
The MyWish programme, launched in 2019, embodies the essence of this pillar. Many children have benefited from the initiative, which allows young supporters in vulnerable situations to experience extraordinary moments inside the club. The most recent example is Ezekiel, aged 13, from Avignon, who lives with severe burn injuries and enjoyed “a wonderful evening” at the Stade Louis-II in November 2025. His pitch-side experience, meet-and-greets with the players and time in the dressing room were moments that go far beyond sport.
A major innovation arrived with the Awabot robot, developed by the company of the same name, which enables hospitalised children to experience a match from their room. The first beneficiary, young Kousay, treated at Lenval Children’s Hospital and a passionate AS Monaco supporter, was able to move around virtually in the corridors and greet the players. His simple and sincere comment — “It was so cool!” — sums up the impact of the initiative.
Environment: raising awareness from an early age
The fourth pillar of AS Monacœur takes shape via “Les Ruches Rouges & Blanches” (Red & White Beehives), a programme launched in summer 2022 with Terrae, the urban farm founded by Jessica Sbaraglia. The aim is to contribute “humbly but concretely” to the preservation of bees, essential to the Principality’s biodiversity. For every ten goals scored in Ligue 1, a new hive is installed on Terrae farms: more than 500,000 bees have already been welcomed.
Academy youngsters also take part in the scheme. The U16s recently visited the farm, observed the apiary and talked with Jessica Sbaraglia about the role of bees and the production of the “Red & White” honey, some of which is gifted to opposing clubs. During the visit, the founder commented: “It allows us to reconnect them with the natural resources that form the basis of their diet.”
Through these projects, AS Monaco aims to raise children’s awareness of protecting living things and gradually integrate environmental considerations into its social commitment.
A lasting impact
The programme’s strength lies in how its initiatives become part of everyday life in the region, the loyalty of partnerships with local institutions, the simplicity of the club’s actions and the consistency of its commitment. “The feedback from our supporters is positive, as is that of our partners who, year after year, renew their trust so we can keep moving forward hand in hand,” the club said.
For the 2025–2026 season, several flagship events continue to reinforce the programme’s commitment, from the fourth Kids Tour season to new editions of the Munegu Cup and the ÜNSEME Cup, as well as the Tous au Stade initiatives during the All Saints’ and Easter holidays.
“The goal is to make current projects sustainable while trying to improve them a little more each year, and to ensure that the different components of the club take greater ownership of the programme,” a representative of the organisation said.