Great Britain men's team have been handed a real hope of qualifying for the 2009 European Championship after the draw was made in Venice.
Chris Finch's team were drawn with Israel, Bosnia and the Czech Republic, avoiding top-ranked Italy and France.
In contrast, the women were handed a tough draw against Lithuania, Germany, Israel and Ukraine in Group A with only the top two teams sure to advance.
The qualifying matches will take place in August and September.
The winners of the four men's qualifying groups, plus the three best second-placed teams, will qualify for the European finals, with one more place available next year.
Both teams are looking to secure a hosts' spot in the 2012 Olympics.
"We managed to stay clear of the some of the traditional powerhouses," said GB men's coach Chris Finch.
"But the most important thing for us, and for the other teams, is to get our best players together.
Finch's team benefited from adding top-flight European-based players and Chicago Bulls star Luol Deng last season.
"There's still a lot of excitement and momentum out there (among the players) for the programme."
"We have to respect everyone and fear no-one"
GB women's coach Mark Clark admitted the draw was a tough one. "There's never an easy draw in the A Division," he said. "Every one of these teams has a pedigree.
"Last year we focused on doing what we're good at. This time we're going to have to play at high level every game and make sure we get some wins at home."
Both teams won promotion from Division B at in September 2007 after recovering from difficult starts in their respective qualifying groups and staying unbeaten.
"It's similar to Chris' position - if we have all our players and the team stays healthy, we'll be competitive," said Clark. "We have to respect everyone and fear no-one."
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