The Chinese Super League has become increasingly popular among football fans and investors in recent years. A new report by Deloitte shows that the league is enjoying momentum and will likely have a bright future. CGTN's Zheng Yibing has more.

The biggest sport with the biggest fanbase in China. The Chinese Super League has gained unprecedented attention since it was established 15 years ago.

ZHENG YIBING BEIJING "This is one of the games for the Chinese Super League this year. And it typically draws some 40,000 fans in a single game."

The league features 16 clubs and takes place annually from March to October. In total, 240 games take place with clubs playing each other home and away. According to a recent report, last year the CSL attracted over 690 million viewers through various media platforms. That's almost five times the number of ten years ago. For fans, it's a growing attraction.

"Every season, I won't even miss a single game. CSL is getting a better sporting atmosphere, more fans, and more commercial attention. And I think it's gaining more influence in the world."

"Chinese Super League is fantastic, just like the Premier League. Everybody comes at the end of the week. Everybody looks forward to the game. Everybody talks about the game, and it has fantastic players."

Deloitte said that such changes are mostly due to favorable policies and a high market demand. In the past three years alone, the government has invested over 20 billion yuan into the sport and 50,000 pitches have been built. China has increasingly become an attractive destination for world-class overseas talent, which adds to the excitement. Many factors are contributing to the sport's fast growth.

CRYSTAL WANG PARTNER, DELOITTE CHINA "Apart from the macro drivers to the overall national sports industry, the uplift of the game quality, as well as the innovative commercial model brought by the new media players are also the key drivers behind the recent years' success of CSL."

However, there are also challenges.

WEI YIDONG FOOTBALL COMMENTATOR "I think that CSL is rising, but it still needs real standardization and professionalism in its management and it seems CSL has not made any strides in this sector despite the improvements in the market. We should be thinking about the future and achieving bigger success."

For him and many other observers, Chinese football needs deeper reform. This includes policies on how to engage younger fans, how to develop a holistic media strategy, and how to balance the commercial interests of the clubs and the league respectively. These are issues in need of addressing in the days to come. Zheng Yibing, CGTN, Beijing.