diff --git a/playbooks/hosts/copr-be.cloud.fedoraproject.org.yml b/playbooks/hosts/copr-be.cloud.fedoraproject.org.yml
index b02e28c070..0833d284ee 100644
--- a/playbooks/hosts/copr-be.cloud.fedoraproject.org.yml
+++ b/playbooks/hosts/copr-be.cloud.fedoraproject.org.yml
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@
     action: copy src=$private/files/copr/buildsys.priv dest=/srv/copr-work/copr/buildsys.priv owner=copr group=copr mode=600
 
   - name: set dir ownership for copr-work and copr-repo
-    action: file path=$item owner=copr group=copr
+    action: file state=directory path=$item owner=copr group=copr
     with_items:
     - /srv/copr-work
     - /srv/copr-user