The membership of the Premier League was increased to ten with the inclusion of the Southampton Vikings.
Promotion and relegation was also introduced between the Premier League and the first Division.
As with the previous season, teams were divided into one Scottish and two English groups.
The winner of the Scottish group advanced directly to the final of the competition while the winners of the two English groups took part in a two legged English Final to the determine the overall finalist.
The total number of teams taking part was expanded to fifteen.