[1] The EHF Cup final four tournament was played in Nantes, France, between 18 and 19 May 2013.

The draw of the EHF Cup group phase was carried out on Thursday 6 December 2012 in Belgrade, Serbia.

[18] As is standard in EHF club competitions, the seeding is calculated on the basis of the three most recent seasons.

The top two teams from each group qualify for the quarter-finals, which are scheduled in April 2013.

If Nantes finish as the worst second ranked team, they will have to play the quarter-final match.

[20] Should the French club rank on the third or fourth position in their group, they will be out of the competition, but they will still organize the Final 4 tournament.

[20] If two or more teams are equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following criteria are applied to determine the rankings (in descending order):[21] If no ranking can be determined, a decision shall be obtained by drawing lots.

The results against teams which finished last in the group stage did not count in the ranking system.