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Soccer Pioneers, Priced Out by Progress

Andrew Testa for The New York Times

ROSSINGTON, England — Over the years, Sheila Edmunds has done pretty much everything for the Doncaster Belles. Half a century ago, she was among the group of friends who founded the club. For 25 years, she wore the team’s No. 8 jersey and, for a while, its captain’s armband.

When she retired, she filled in wherever required: welfare officer, first-aid practitioner, physiotherapist. Now her official title is president and general manager. If that sounds like an executive role, an honorary sinecure, it is not.

An hour or so before a game at the windswept stadium that the Belles now call home, Edmunds can be found in the simple wooden cabin that passes for a ticket office.