diff --git a/.github/workflows/functional.yml b/.github/workflows/functional.yml
index ef96aaea84..d657b03947 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/functional.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/functional.yml
@@ -111,6 +111,13 @@ jobs:
           make create-kind-cluster KIND_KUBE_CONFIG=${{ github.workspace }}/kube-${{ github.run_id }} ${{ ! contains(matrix.k8s-version, 'latest') && 'KIND_IMAGE=kindest/node:v${k8s_version}' || '' }}
           echo "KUBECONFIG=${{ github.workspace }}/kube-${{ github.run_id }}" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
 
+
+      - name: Wait for release to exist
+        run: |
+          REF=${{ github.ref_name }}
+          until docker pull ghcr.io/nginxinc/nginx-gateway-fabric:${REF#v}; do sleep 5; done
+          until docker pull ghcr.io/nginxinc/nginx-gateway-fabric/nginx:${REF#v}; do sleep 5; done
+
       - name: Setup functional tests
         id: setup
         run: |