Groups drawn for next phase of EHF European League Women
All 16 teams left in the EHF European League Women 2023/24 can start preparing for the group phase. The draw in Vienna on Thursday has set the four groups, so all teams know their three opponents for when the competition resumes in January.
The draw placed last season’s finalists Nykøbing Falster Håndbold in group A, where the Danish side will meet Praktiker-Vác, Storhamar Handball Elite, and HC Podravka Vegeta.
Another team that competed at the EHF Finals last season, Thüringer HC, are set to face H.C. Dunarea Braila, the Romanian side that eliminated THC's domestic rivals BV Borussia 09 Dortmund in the last qualification round. Group B further consists of HC Lokomotiva Zagreb and Chambray Touraine Handball.
Neptunes Nantes, the only previous winners taking part in the group phase, were drawn into group C; the French side lifted the trophy in the inaugural edition of the EHF European League in 2020/21. Later winners SG BBM Bietigheim and Ikast Handbold are both competing in the EHF Champions League this season.
Nantes share their group with CS Gloria 2018 BN, MKS FunFloor Lublin, and a team new to the competition this season: HSG Bensheim/Auerbach.
And group D includes Costa del Sol Malaga, the EHF European Cup Women champions in 2021 and runners-up in 2022, who are set to take on Motherson Mosonmagyarovari KC, competition debutants CSM Targu Jiu, and Sola HK.
The country protection rule applied to the draw, so no teams from the same nation could end up in the same group.
The group phase consists of six rounds, which will be played between 6/7 January and 17/18 February 2024. The exact playing schedule and throw-off times will be announced in due time.
The top-two teams from each group advance to the quarter-finals in March.
