Mexico beats Switzerland in shock World Cup Final

Update: View a selection of photos from the Decorate Your Desk competition!

Manchester based web development agency CTI has embraced the spirit of the World Cup by holding an unusual sweepstake that has resulted in a draw between the Swiss and the Mexicans.

Ditching the traditional sweepstake, the CTI team was challenged to decorate their desks in the theme of their selected nation. The best entry, and the first runner up, was to be rewarded with an iPad.

All 28 employees stepped up to the bench. Impressive features included the recreation of the red light district in Holland, a shrine to the 1966 winning World Cup team for England and a desk beach with real sand for the Ivory Coast.

However, faced with a tough decision, the judge decided that the winner was lead developer Bill Thornton for his Mexican inspired desk, wearing a full strip and offering colleagues tequila soaked chicken wings and the chance to kick about his football piñata.

Second place went to front-end developer Mark Weston for his homage to Switzerland, which included an impressive cardboard mountain scene from Switzerland complete with cardboard cut out watches and stuck on Toblerone.

The challenge, set by agency founder Nicholas Rhind , was part of the companies World Cup initiative. Rhind has also installed 60” television screen to their Northern Quarter offices so the team can watch every game.

Rhind comments: “The World Cup is a great team building opportunity and a chance for us to reward the hard work that the team has been putting in. The big screen means that staff don’t need to take days off to keep up with the score and the desk challenge encouraged people to think creatively.”

Bill Thornton, whose Mexican scene scooped him the grand prize, adds: “Competition was fierce but once the spoils of the piñata had been shared out – there could only ever be one real winner. Desk challenges aside, we’re all putting our support behind England to win.”