diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index 8863afc..3982874 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/openstack-k8s-operators/lib-common/modules/test v0.5.0
 	github.com/openstack-k8s-operators/mariadb-operator/api v0.5.0
 	go.uber.org/zap v1.27.0
+	gopkg.in/yaml.v3 v3.0.1
 	k8s.io/api v0.29.9
 	k8s.io/apimachinery v0.29.9
 	k8s.io/client-go v0.29.9
@@ -67,7 +68,6 @@ require (
 	google.golang.org/protobuf v1.34.1 // indirect
 	gopkg.in/inf.v0 v0.9.1 // indirect
 	gopkg.in/yaml.v2 v2.4.0 // indirect
-	gopkg.in/yaml.v3 v3.0.1 // indirect
 	k8s.io/apiextensions-apiserver v0.29.9 // indirect
 	k8s.io/component-base v0.29.9 // indirect
 	k8s.io/klog/v2 v2.110.1 // indirect
diff --git a/tests/functional/sample_test.go b/tests/functional/sample_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..95b3461
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/functional/sample_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2024.
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+	http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+*/
+package functional
+
+import (
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+
+	. "github.com/onsi/ginkgo/v2" //revive:disable:dot-imports
+	. "github.com/onsi/gomega"    //revive:disable:dot-imports
+	"gopkg.in/yaml.v3"
+	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/types"
+)
+
+const SamplesDir = "../../config/samples/"
+
+func ReadSample(sampleFileName string) map[string]interface{} {
+	rawSample := make(map[string]interface{})
+
+	bytes, err := os.ReadFile(filepath.Join(SamplesDir, sampleFileName))
+	Expect(err).ShouldNot(HaveOccurred())
+	Expect(yaml.Unmarshal(bytes, rawSample)).Should(Succeed())
+
+	return rawSample
+}
+
+// TODO(amoralej) This is creating the test to validate Watcher sample.
+// For the rest of CRs we will add additional tests when creating the basic structure
+// and envtest.
+
+func CreateWatcherFromSample(sampleFileName string, name types.NamespacedName) types.NamespacedName {
+	raw := ReadSample(sampleFileName)
+	instance := CreateWatcher(name, raw["spec"].(map[string]interface{}))
+	DeferCleanup(th.DeleteInstance, instance)
+	return types.NamespacedName{Name: instance.GetName(), Namespace: instance.GetNamespace()}
+}
+
+// This is a set of test for our samples. It only validates that the sample
+// file has all the required field with proper types. But it does not
+// validate that using a sample file will result in a working deployment.
+// TODO(gibi): By building up all the prerequisites (e.g. MariaDBDatabase) in
+// the test and by simulating Job and Deployment success we could assert
+// that each sample creates a CR in Ready state.
+var _ = Describe("Samples", func() {
+
+	When("watcher_v1beta1_watcher.yaml sample is applied", func() {
+		It("Watcher is created", func() {
+			name := CreateWatcherFromSample("watcher_v1beta1_watcher.yaml", watcherTest.Instance)
+			GetWatcher(name)
+		})
+	})
+})