City have been drawn against Banbridge Town in the first round of the newly-formatted Co-operative Insurance Cup. The competition used to be run as a round-robin competition for top-flight teams only, followed by knockout competition, but this year a two-legged knock-out format has been adopted. The first round will feature only IFA Championship teams, with Glebe Rangers and Killymoon Rangers having drawn the short straw in having to face off in a preliminary round as there are 17 teams in the IFA Championship.

Banbridge, now under the leadership of ex-City manager Colin Malone, will host the first leg on Saturday 30th August while the second leg will be played at Holm Park on the evening of Wednesday 3rd September.

Armagh City's home game against Ballymoney United, set for this Saturday 9th August, has been cancelled due to the Irish League referees's strike that was announced this evening.  The strike will affect all IFA Championship and Premiership fixtures and is understood to have been called to protest against poor conditions and the lack of assistant referees for Championship games.

A time limit has not yet been set for the strike action and so further upheaval to the season's fixture list may be in store. In an unrelated change, City and Killymoon Rangers have moved their game at the Mid-Ulster Sports Stadium forward from Saturday 23rd August to Friday 22nd August.