Reuters Sports Schedule at 1400 GMT Wednesday, Oct 14

Reuters sports schedule at 1400 GMT on Wednesday: - - - - FIFA FIFA ethics board gives six year ban to South Africa's Kika ZURICH - The ethics committee for global soccer body FIFA has banned former South African soccer official Lindile Kika from the all of the sport's activities for six years.(SOCCER-FIFA/, moved) - - Prince Ali urges FIFA to stick with February election date ZURICH - FIFA's presidential election should go ahead as planned on Feb. 26 and not be delayed due to the suspensions of Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini, candidate Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan said on Wednesday. (SOCCER FIFA/ALI, moved, by Simon Evans, 400 words) - - German FA chief to play his part in FIFA restructuring BERLIN - German soccer (DFB) chief Wolfgang Niersbach has said he wants to play an active role in restructuring world football but stopped short of hinting at a run for the crisis-hit FIFA's presidency next year. (SOCCER FIFA/NIERSBACH, moved, by Karolos Grohmann, 400 words) - - - - RUGBY WORLD CUP (to 31) Springbok Pietersen returns from injury to face Wales BAGSHOT, England - South Africa winger JP Pietersen's return from injury is the only change to Heyneke Meyer's team to face Wales in Saturday's Rugby World Cup quarter-final at Twickenham. (RUGBY UNION-WORLD/SAFRICA-TEAM, moved, by Nick Said, 400 words) - - Carefree spirit of 2011 can lift France again, says Retiere CARDIFF - France must rediscover their joie de vivre if they are to stand a chance of winning Saturday's Rugby World Cup quarter-final against New Zealand, according to a member of the coaching team who helped Les Bleus to the 2011 final. (RUGBY UNION-WORLD/FRANCE-RETIERE (INTERVIEW), moved, by Julien Pretot, 500 words) - - Scotland's players look forward to facing Australia GUILDFORD, England - Scotland's players look ahead to their quarter-final against Australia well aware they need to produce something special to advance. (RUGBY UNION-WORLD/SCOTLAND, expect by 1500 GMT/1100 AM ET, by Mitch Phillips, 400 words) - - We will monitor news from across the tournament and file stories throughout. (RUGBY UNION-WORLD/) - - - - BASEBALL Rangers, Jays vie for spot in AL Championship Series Former World Series Most Valuable Player Cole Hamels takes the mound for the Texas Rangers in a decisive fifth game of the American League Division Series versus right-hander Marcus Stroman and the host Toronto Blue Jays. (BASEBALL-PLAYOFFS/BLUEJAYS, expect by 0030 GMT/8:30 PM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 400 words) - - Royals host Astros in decisive game of AL Division Series The Kansas City Royals host the Houston Astros in the fifth and deciding game of the American League Division Series with the winner going on to the penultimate round of the postseason versus either the Toronto Blue Jays or Texas Rangers. (BASEBALL-PLAYOFFS/ROYALS, expect by 0430 GMT/12:30 AM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 400 words) - - - - SOCCER We bring you all the latest news from around Europe as domestic action returns following the internatioanl break with all eyes on Juergen Klopp's debut as manager of Liverpool when they travel to Tottenham Hotspur in Saturday's early kickoff. - - - - OLYMPICS IOC sees positive strides in Tokyo preparations for 2020 TOKYO - The International Olympic Committee has seen positive strides in Tokyo's preparations for the 2020 Games despite embarrassments such as scrapping its logo and new Olympic Stadium due to anger over ballooning costs. (JAPAN-OLYMPICS/ (PIX, TV), expect by 1030 GMT/6:30 AM ET, 400 words) - - - - CRICKET Pakistan v England, 1st test (to 17) (CRICKET-PAKISTAN/, expect throughout, 400 words) - - Sri Lanka v West Indies, 1st test, Galle (to 18) (CRICKET-SRI LANKA/, expect throughout, 400 words) - - India v South Africa, 2nd ODI, Indore India eye victory to level series INDORE, India - India, having lost the Twenty20 series to visiting South Africa, will go all out to win the second of the five-match one-day international series having lost the opener. (CRICKET-INDIA/ (PIX), expect by 1500 GMT/12 PM ET, 400 words) - - - - GOLF Very little rest for PGA Tour players as new season starts Just 18 days after the 2014-15 PGA Tour ended with Jordan Spieth's four-shot victory at the Tour Championship, the 2015-16 season gets underway with Thursday's opening round of the Frys.com Open at Silverado Resort in Napa, California. We preview the season opener where world number three Rory McIlroy and seventh-ranked Justin Rose head a strong field. (GOLF-PGA/ (PREVIEW), expect by 2200 GMT/6 PM ET, 400 words) - - - - NHL Undefeated Arizona in action, Bruins eye first win The Arizona Coyotes look to extend their perfect start to the young season while the Boston Bruins and Columbus Blue Jackets seek their first wins in three of the four games on the National Hockey League schedule. (NHL-HIGHLIGHTS/, expect by 0330 GMT/11:30 PM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 400 words) - - - - NORTH AMERICAN SPORTS Roundups of off-field developments in the major North American professional sports leagues. (expect by 0000 GMT/8:00 PM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 400 words) TENNIS ATP: Shanghai Masters, China (to 18) Big guns aim to avoid upsets in Shanghai SHANGHAI - Top seed Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Rafa Nadal will hope to avoid upsets, after Roger Federer's surprise second-round defeat, against Slovakia's Martin Klizan, American Steve Johnson and big-serving Croat Ivo Karlovic respectively. (TENNIS-MEN/SHANGHAI, expect by 0800 GMT/4 AM ET, 300 words) - - WTA: Hong Kong Open (to 18) Linz Open (to 18) Copy on merit on above tournaments - - - - (Europe desk editor: Ken Ferris)