diff --git a/kola/tests/kubeadm/kubeadm.go b/kola/tests/kubeadm/kubeadm.go
index 31e709141..44b473873 100644
--- a/kola/tests/kubeadm/kubeadm.go
+++ b/kola/tests/kubeadm/kubeadm.go
@@ -33,12 +33,23 @@ import (
 )
 
 var (
+	// CNIs is the list of CNIs to deploy
+	// in the cluster setup
+	CNIs = []string{
+		"calico",
+		"flannel",
+		"cilium",
+	}
 	// params are used to render script templates
 	// Release is the kubernetes release version we want to use
 	// ReleaseVersion is the version of the kubelet service and kubeadm dropin
 	// TODO: when a new version of kubernetes will be tested, it would be nice
 	// to have a map[string]Release with Release struct holding the parameter below
 	params = map[string]interface{}{
+		// TODO: it's actually the CLI version
+		// we should pass the CLI and cilium version
+		// https://github.com/cilium/cilium-cli/issues/118
+		"CiliumVersion":  "v0.8.3",
 		"CNIVersion":     "v0.8.7",
 		"CRIctlVersion":  "v1.17.0",
 		"ReleaseVersion": "v0.4.0",
@@ -64,18 +75,23 @@ systemd:
 )
 
 func init() {
-	register.Register(&register.Test{
-		Name:             "kubeadm.base",
-		Distros:          []string{"cl"},
-		ExcludePlatforms: []string{"esx"},
-		Run:              kubeadmBaseTest,
-	})
+	for _, CNI := range CNIs {
+		register.Register(&register.Test{
+			Name:             fmt.Sprintf("kubeadm.%s.base", CNI),
+			Distros:          []string{"cl"},
+			ExcludePlatforms: []string{"esx"},
+			Run: func(c cluster.TestCluster) {
+				kubeadmBaseTest(c, CNI)
+			},
+		})
+	}
 }
 
 // kubeadmBaseTest asserts that the cluster is up and running
-func kubeadmBaseTest(c cluster.TestCluster) {
+func kubeadmBaseTest(c cluster.TestCluster, CNI string) {
 	board := kola.QEMUOptions.Board
 	params["Arch"] = strings.SplitN(board, "-", 2)[0]
+	params["CNI"] = CNI
 	kubectl, err := setup(c)
 	if err != nil {
 		c.Fatalf("unable to setup cluster: %v", err)
diff --git a/kola/tests/kubeadm/templates.go b/kola/tests/kubeadm/templates.go
index fa9e548ca..6943a6f07 100644
--- a/kola/tests/kubeadm/templates.go
+++ b/kola/tests/kubeadm/templates.go
@@ -185,6 +185,14 @@ storage:
             hash:
               function: sha512
               sum: {{ .KubectlSum }}
+{{ if eq .CNI "cilium" }}
+    - path: {{ .DownloadDir }}/cilium.tar.gz
+      filesystem: root
+      mode: 0755
+      contents:
+        remote:
+          url: https://github.com/cilium/cilium-cli/releases/download/{{ .CiliumVersion }}/cilium-linux-amd64.tar.gz
+{{ end }}
     - path: /home/core/install.sh
       filesystem: root
       mode: 0755
@@ -280,6 +288,7 @@ etcd:
     {{ end }}
 EOF
 
+{{ if eq .CNI "calico" }}
 cat << EOF > calico.yaml
 # Source: https://docs.projectcalico.org/manifests/custom-resources.yaml
 apiVersion: operator.tigera.io/v1
@@ -298,6 +307,7 @@ spec:
         nodeSelector: all()
   flexVolumePath: /opt/libexec/kubernetes/kubelet-plugins/volume/exec/
 EOF
+{{ end }}
 
 {
     systemctl enable --quiet --now kubelet
@@ -307,8 +317,23 @@ EOF
     cp /etc/kubernetes/admin.conf /home/core/.kube/config
     chown -R core:core /home/core/.kube; chmod a+r /home/core/.kube/config;
 
+{{ if eq .CNI "calico" }}
     kubectl create -f https://docs.projectcalico.org/manifests/tigera-operator.yaml
     kubectl apply -f calico.yaml
+{{ end }}
+{{ if eq .CNI "flannel" }}
+    curl -sSfL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/flannel-io/flannel/master/Documentation/kube-flannel.yml > kube-flannel.yml
+    sed -i "s#10.244.0.0/16#{{ .PodSubnet }}#" kube-flannel.yml
+    kubectl apply -f kube-flannel.yml
+{{ end }}
+{{ if eq .CNI "cilium" }}
+    sudo tar -xf {{ .DownloadDir }}/cilium.tar.gz -C {{ .DownloadDir }}
+    /opt/bin/cilium install \
+        --config enable-endpoint-routes=true \
+        --config cluster-pool-ipv4-cidr={{ .PodSubnet }}
+    # --wait will wait for status to report success
+    /opt/bin/cilium status --wait
+{{ end }}
 } 1>&2