Current champions Füchse Berlin will begin their title defence in group G, where they have been drawn against Dinamo Bucuresti, Chambery Savoie Mont Blanc HB and RK Izvidac.
Berlin are the only team from the 2023 EHF Finals Men guaranteed to be participating in this season's EHF European League Men, as runners-up Fraikin BM. Granollers will have to negotiate a qualifier with CSM Constanta if they are to take their place in group H alongside Sporting CP, MOL Tatabanya KC and KGHM Chrobry Glogow.
2022 champions Sport Lisboa e Benfica are back and hoping to regain the title. Benfica are the only non-German team to win the competition in its current guise, or in its previous form, the EHF Cup, since 2014.
The Portuguese side are in what looks to be a group of death, as group A also contains HBC Nantes, IFK Kristianstad and the winner of Rhein-Neckar Löwen and HC Vardar 1961.
Group F also features a current European champion; Serbia's HC Vojvodina lifted the EHF European Cup last month and will take the step up to the EHF European League this season. They are joined by Bjerringbro-Silkeborg, HC Alkaloid and BM Logroño La Rioja.
A total of 27 teams were seeded to the group phase, and will be joined by the five winners of the five qualification ties, drawn on Tuesday.
It is the first time that group matches with 32 teams are played following a revamp of the EHF European League's competition format for the 2023/24 season.
EHF European League Men 2023/24 group phase
GROUP A
HBC Nantes
IFK Kristianstad
Sport Lisboa e Benfica
Rhein-Neckar Löwen/HC Vardar 1961
GROUP B
Górnik Zabrze
AEK Athens
HC Kriens-Luzern
Ystads IF HF/"Recken"-TSV Hannover-Burgdorf
GROUP C
REBI Balonmano Cuenca
RK Gorenje Velenje
IK Sävehof
Pfadi Winterthur/Aguas Santas Milaneza
GROUP D
RK Nexe
MSK Povazska Bystrica
Skjern Handbold
ABC de Braga/RK Trimo Trebnje
GROUP E
Kadetten Schaffhausen
Elverum Handball
SG Flensburg-Handewitt
HC Lovcen-Cetinje
GROUP F
Bjerringbro-Silkeborg
HC Alkaloid
BM Logroño La Rioja
HC Vojvodina
GROUP G
Füchse Berlin
Dinamo Bucuresti
Chambery Savoie Mont Blanc HB
RK Izvidac
GROUP H
Sporting CP
MOL Tatabanya KC
KGHM Chrobry Glogow
Fraikin BM. Granollers/CSM Constanta
The top two teams in each group will qualify for the new main round. There will be no main round draw; the qualifying teams from groups A and B will form one main round group, with groups C and D, E and F, and G and H progressing in the same fashion.
Each team will take the points they gained against the team which also qualified from their group with them to the main round.
The qualification round is set to take place between 26 August and 3 September 2023, before the group matches begin on 17 October.
