Nelson Mandela is a team player

A German professional football club can openly brag about having Nelson Mandela on its team.

Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt recently signed on Mandela, an 18-year-old striker from Cameroon, seemingly named after the famed late statesman.

Mandela began his football career at Barcelona, before leaving the team's La Masia academy at the age of 13 and moving to Germany. He scored eight goals in 14 games for the Frankfurt under-19 side and is being touted as a future star by German media.

The fact that the football player - whose full name is Nelson Mandela Mbouhom - shares a name with Madiba has set tongues wagging on social media and made international headlines.

One UK newspaper was quoted as saying that Mandela "certainly has a lot to live up to - not least because he shares a name with the great former president of South Africa".

Luzuko Koti, spokesman for the Nelson Mandela Foundation, said they had heard about Cameroon's Nelson Mandela.

"We note this interesting coincidence and accept that many parents name their children inspired by their heroes or idols. We believe this case is one of those. We don't believe that there is any copyright issue involved in this instance and wish Mr Mbouhom all the best in his football career in Germany," said Koti.

The Nelson Mandela Foundation reportedly owns more than a dozen copyrights and trademarks for Mandela, which it uses for fundraising and charitable works.