diff --git a/Config.in b/Config.in
index bdf5fa8647..e0257ba3e8 100644
--- a/Config.in
+++ b/Config.in
@@ -103,6 +103,10 @@ menu "Build options"
 
 menu "Commands"
 
+config BR2_CURL
+	string "Curl command"
+	default "curl -q --ftp-pasv --retry 3"
+
 config BR2_WGET
 	string "Wget command"
 	default "wget -nd -t 3"
diff --git a/docs/manual/prerequisite.adoc b/docs/manual/prerequisite.adoc
index ab609c12be..5d3aa297a9 100644
--- a/docs/manual/prerequisite.adoc
+++ b/docs/manual/prerequisite.adoc
@@ -75,6 +75,7 @@ packages using any of these methods, you will need to install the
 corresponding tool on the host system:
 +
 ** +bazaar+
+** +curl+
 ** +cvs+
 ** +git+
 ** +mercurial+
diff --git a/package/pkg-download.mk b/package/pkg-download.mk
index 7028d3917a..17c8a244c4 100644
--- a/package/pkg-download.mk
+++ b/package/pkg-download.mk
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 ################################################################################
 
 # Download method commands
+export CURL := $(call qstrip,$(BR2_CURL))
 export WGET := $(call qstrip,$(BR2_WGET))
 export SVN := $(call qstrip,$(BR2_SVN))
 export CVS := $(call qstrip,$(BR2_CVS))
diff --git a/package/pkg-generic.mk b/package/pkg-generic.mk
index a2749320c3..e1c16b7343 100644
--- a/package/pkg-generic.mk
+++ b/package/pkg-generic.mk
@@ -1253,6 +1253,8 @@ else ifeq ($$($(2)_SITE_METHOD),hg)
 DL_TOOLS_DEPENDENCIES += hg
 else ifeq ($$($(2)_SITE_METHOD),cvs)
 DL_TOOLS_DEPENDENCIES += cvs
+else ifneq ($(filter ftp ftps,$$($(2)_SITE_METHOD)),)
+DL_TOOLS_DEPENDENCIES += curl
 endif # SITE_METHOD
 
 # cargo/go vendoring (may) need git
diff --git a/support/download/curl b/support/download/curl
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..bea4485a6c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/support/download/curl
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+
+# We want to catch any unexpected failure, and exit immediately
+set -e
+
+# Download helper for curl, to be called from the download wrapper script
+#
+# Options:
+#   -q          Be quiet.
+#   -o FILE     Save into file FILE.
+#   -f FILENAME The filename of the tarball to get at URL
+#   -u URL      Download file at URL.
+#
+# Environment:
+#   CURL     : the curl command to call
+
+quiet=
+while getopts "${BR_BACKEND_DL_GETOPTS}" OPT; do
+    case "${OPT}" in
+    q)  quiet=-s;;
+    o)  output="${OPTARG}";;
+    f)  filename="${OPTARG}";;
+    u)  url="${OPTARG}";;
+    :)  printf "option '%s' expects a mandatory argument\n" "${OPTARG}"; exit 1;;
+    \?) printf "unknown option '%s'\n" "${OPTARG}" >&2; exit 1;;
+    esac
+done
+
+shift $((OPTIND-1)) # Get rid of our options
+
+# Caller needs to single-quote its arguments to prevent them from
+# being expanded a second time (in case there are spaces in them)
+_curl() {
+    if [ -z "${quiet}" ]; then
+        printf '%s ' "${CURL}" "${@}"; printf '\n'
+    fi
+    _plain_curl "$@"
+}
+# Note: please keep command below aligned with what is printed above
+_plain_curl() {
+    # shellcheck disable=SC2086  # We want splitting
+    eval ${CURL} "${@}"
+}
+
+_curl ${quiet} "${@}" --output "'${output}'" "'${url}/${filename}'"
diff --git a/support/download/dl-wrapper b/support/download/dl-wrapper
index 35428faeef..069b2c1c21 100755
--- a/support/download/dl-wrapper
+++ b/support/download/dl-wrapper
@@ -91,6 +91,7 @@ main() {
         backend="${backend_urlencode%|*}"
         case "${backend}" in
             git|svn|cvs|bzr|file|scp|hg|sftp) ;;
+            ftp|ftps) backend="curl" ;;
             *) backend="wget" ;;
         esac
         uri=${uri#*+}