Whatever one's view, the reality is that Hacken will welcome both Spain's Rayo Vallecano and France's Strasbourg to Bravida Arena over the coming months. It will be the first time the Wasps have played a compeititive fixture against sides from either LaLiga or Ligue 1.
To round off their three home matches, AEK Larnaca will also be making the trip to the Svenska Cupen winners, who will make trips to Slovakia to face Slovan Bratislava, Ireland to take on Shelbourne and Bosnia & Herzegovina for a clash with Zrinjski Mostar.
The exact dates and times of those fixtures are still to be determined. Matchday one will be played on Thursday 2nd October, with the sixth and final matchday is set for Thursday 18th December.
Hacken's UECL League Phase opponents
HOME: Rayo Vallecano (ESP), Strasbourg (FRA), AEK Larnaca (CYP)
AWAY: Slovan Bratislava (SVK), Zrinjski Mostar (BIH), Shelbourne (IRL)
Slovan Bratislava will be the second Slovak side for Hacken to face this season - having regained the Svenska Cupen crown in the spring, Hacken saw off Spartak Trnava in the UEFA Europa League (UEL) First Qualifying Round, then secured a famous win over Anderlecht on penalties.
They failed to repeat their heroics against Brann of Norway in the Third Round, which saw them drop into the UECL and dismantle CFR Cluj of Romania 7-3 on aggregate to reach the League Phase.
This will be Hacken's second appearance in a European competition proper after they reached the Group Stage of the 2023/24 UEL, in which they lost all six of their matches.
They will be looking for a better performance in the UECL and perhaps look to emulate fellow Swedish side Djurgarden, who reached the semi-finals of this competition last season.