FC Bayern's Diwali shirt is not for sale, and the raffle has closed

The FC Bayern Diwali shirt is real, but you can't buy it. Bayern Munich made one handcrafted jersey with Indian artist Abhay Sehgal. The only way to get it was a raffle on Instagram, and that raffle closed on 9 November 2026 at 2:00 pm CET (Central European Time, the time zone Germany uses in winter).

Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, fell on 8 November 2026. The club shared the shirt around the festival, and many of us noticed.

What is the FC Bayern Diwali shirt?

It is a special version of Bayern's 2026/27 third kit (the club's extra shirt, worn as a change from the home and away colours). Sehgal, an Indian contemporary artist, redesigned it for Diwali.

The club gave him complete creative freedom. He mixed European football style with personal Indian stories. His focus was the future of children who play football in India.

This is not a normal fan jersey. It is a one-off, non-commercial piece. Bayern did not wear it in an official Bundesliga match (a game in the top German football league), including the 7 November game against FSV Mainz 05.

What does the design show?

The base colour is dark purple. On top, you see detailed patterns in orange, red and gold. Sehgal used traditional Indian craft methods, including block printing (stamping patterns with carved blocks) and hand embroidery.

The back is the most interesting part. It shows the number 00 rising out of a diya (the small oil lamp we light at Diwali).

The double zero has two meanings:

• It stands for the dream of seeing an Indian team play at the FIFA World Cup.
• It honours India's maths history, since people link Aryabhata, the Indian mathematician, with the idea of zero.

I like this. It's not a flag and not a cliché. It's a small idea that Indian readers will understand quickly.

Who wore it?

Several first-team players modelled the shirt. They included Serge Gnabry, Kim Min-jae and Dayot Upamecano. Harry Kane, the 2026 Ballon d'Or winner (a top yearly football award), also posed in it.

Kane thanked Sehgal publicly for bringing the design "all the way from India".

Can you still buy or win the shirt?

No, not any more. Because it is handmade and non-commercial, it was not for sale in FC Bayern stores or online.

Fans in Germany could only enter a raffle (a prize draw) on the club's official Instagram account, @fcbayern. It opened on 6 November 2026 at 5:00 am CET and closed on 9 November 2026 at 2:00 pm CET. That's a little over three days.

If you missed it, the chance to win the physical shirt has gone. That makes it a collector's item. The shirt was never on public sale, so treat any online seller who claims to have one as a warning sign.

You can read the official rules on the FC Bayern raffle terms page. For more on the design story, see the report on OneFootball.

Why does it matter for the Indian community in Germany?

European football clubs often make special kits for international events, such as Lunar New Year. A Diwali project with an independent Indian artist, from a club as big as Bayern, is rare.

For Indians in Germany, it joins two parts of life that often feel separate. One is Diwali and Indian craft. The other is Bundesliga football, which is part of everyday German life.

I'd keep one point in perspective. One shirt doesn't change daily life, and it doesn't fix problems like loneliness or unfair treatment that some of us face. But it shows that one of Germany's biggest sports clubs chose to recognise us. That counts.

What should you do now?

You can't enter this raffle, but you can still enjoy the story. Look at the design in the photos, and share it with friends or family in India who follow football.

If you want a chance at a similar prize in future, follow @fcbayern on Instagram and read the terms before you enter any giveaway. Check the dates and the time zone. This raffle closed at 2:00 pm CET, and a mistake of a few hours is enough to miss out.

The shirt was also covered by Free Press Journal and Footy Headlines if you want more coverage.

Cover photo: Saurav Rastogi on Unsplash