diff --git a/ansible/group_vars/all.yml b/ansible/group_vars/all.yml
index ca573064f1..a59324555e 100644
--- a/ansible/group_vars/all.yml
+++ b/ansible/group_vars/all.yml
@@ -403,6 +403,7 @@ mariadb_shard_backup_user_prefix: "backup_shard_"
 mariadb_shards_info: "{{ groups['mariadb'] | database_shards_info() }}"
 
 masakari_api_port: "15868"
+masakari_coordination_backend: "{{ 'redis' if enable_redis | bool else 'etcd' if enable_etcd | bool else '' }}"
 
 memcached_port: "11211"
 
diff --git a/ansible/roles/masakari/templates/masakari.conf.j2 b/ansible/roles/masakari/templates/masakari.conf.j2
index 969cf2f2d5..081688aed1 100644
--- a/ansible/roles/masakari/templates/masakari.conf.j2
+++ b/ansible/roles/masakari/templates/masakari.conf.j2
@@ -70,3 +70,12 @@ policy_file = {{ masakari_policy_file }}
 
 [taskflow]
 connection = mysql+pymysql://{{ masakari_database_user }}:{{ masakari_database_password }}@{{ masakari_database_address }}/{{ masakari_database_name }}
+
+{% if service_name == 'masakari-api' %}
+[coordination]
+{% if masakari_coordination_backend == 'redis' %}
+backend_url = {{ redis_connection_string }}
+{% elif masakari_coordination_backend == 'etcd' %}
+backend_url = etcd3+{{ internal_protocol }}://{{ kolla_internal_fqdn }}:{{ etcd_client_port }}{% if openstack_cacert %}?ca_cert={{ openstack_cacert }}{% endif %}
+{% endif %}
+{% endif %}
diff --git a/releasenotes/notes/new-variable-masakari-coordination-backend-d3b742315a07aabc.yaml b/releasenotes/notes/new-variable-masakari-coordination-backend-d3b742315a07aabc.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..d425368299
--- /dev/null
+++ b/releasenotes/notes/new-variable-masakari-coordination-backend-d3b742315a07aabc.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+---
+features:
+  - |
+    Masakari coordination backend can now be configured via
+    masakari_coordination_backend variable.
+    Coordination is optional and can now be set to either redis or etcd.