The vice-president of Chinas leading football club Beijing Guoan Thursday predicted the Chinese Super League will rival England's Premier League within 15 years. Zhang Lu, who is also an influential TV football pundit, said soaring interest in the domestic game could soon attract big name players and transform the current league set-up into a world beater. 'I believe the Chinese Super League can become one of the most popular leagues in the world,' said Zhang, a former goalkeeper and coach of the capital's top club. His comments echo those of English Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore, who said earlier this week that the Chinese Super League could one day be among the best in the world. Zhang said that after two difficult years where the league was plagued by poor refereeing, corruption and temperamental players, the last 12 months had brought a new optimism with attendances up at leading clubs. '50,000 recently watched Beijing Guoan in the bitter derby against Tianjin Teda -- a record for Chinas domestic football,' he said. 'Of course there are many things to be improved before making the big jump to rival the Premier League, but I think we have at least 10 or 15 years to wait before we catch up. 'The main thing we have to learn from the Premier League is to organize grassroots football. This is what makes the Premier League so successful,' he added. Zhang said his club hoped to sign bigger players from overseas once finances allowed and said if crowds continued to increase, Beijing Guoan could start playing at the Olympic Stadium, the Birds Nest. His optimistic predictions will be welcomed by Scudamore who also claimed the Chinese Super League could become a rival. 'Together with the drive and ambition of the Beijing Football Association, which could see China rival England as one of the world's footballing powers and the Chinese Super League competing with the Premier League. We would relish that challenge,' he said. Beijing Guoan play West Ham for the runner-up spot at the Barclays Asian Trophy on Friday night at the Workers Stadium in Beijing. 