Dublin came into the competition as the defending champions, having won their 54th title and completed a 5-in-a-row the previous season.
As in the previous two seasons, the two sides were named as A and B, to allow for teams to more easily predict the dates of their qualifier matches.
Carlow, Dublin, Laois, Louth, Meath and Wicklow were named to the A side, with Kildare, Longford, Offaly, Westmeath and Wexford on the B side.
[1] The final was a replay of the previous year's decider, with Dublin facing Westmeath.
Dublin won 2–19 to 0–10 in the final at Croke Park, the county's first six-in-a-row since the 1970s.