Katima mulilo: The Zambezi Second Division Namibia Football Association (NFA) Cup kicked off on Saturday, with some of the league's favourites dealt a major blow as they were eliminated in the first round of play.According to Namibia Press Agency, the kick-off of the NFA Cup saw all 12 NamPort Zambezi regional football clubs partake in the preliminary NFA Cup competition heading into the knockout stages, and eventually the preliminary finale expected to be played late Sunday. "It is a preliminary tournament that features all second division clubs. NFA wants to keep the boys out of the streets and provide a competitive, enjoyable sportsmanship environment with prizes to be won this weekend. We expect to crown a regional champion that will join three other first division clubs as well as the other 16 Premier League clubs for another round of competitive football games," vice chairperson of the Zambezi Regional Football Association, Ben Uerikua, told Nampa on Friday.Utilising two playing venues - the Univers ity of Namibia (UNAM) Sports Field and the Katima Mulilo Sports Complex, the favourites Bush Bucks FC were beaten 2-1 by Zambezi Sporting Academy FC in the semifinals, while Shooting Stars were eliminated by Brights Stars 4-5 on penalties. Thus, it will either be Bright Stars or Zambezi Sporting Academy that will be crowned regional champions in the Sunday final with Bush Bucks and Shooting Stars sharing the third prize.The regional winner of the weekend tournament is expected to walk away with N.dollars 20,000 while the runner-up will pocket N.dollars 10,000. The semi-finalists will each get N.dollars 2,500. Meanwhile, the Zambezi Second Division League that experienced delays to initial kick-off earlier this year due to budget approval constraints, may conclude earlier instead of the scheduled 15 June 2026 timeframe. All participating clubs have two games to play with Bush Bucks still in the lead with 40 points, followed by Shooting Stars, then Oryza Sativa who both stand at 35 points but separated by goa l difference. Brights Stars are in the fourth place with 33 points on the log table of the league.