England striker Harry Kane has said he plans to speak with other national team captains to organise a unified approach to highlighting human rights issues ahead of the World Cup in Qatar.
England manager Gareth Southgate held a 30-minute meeting with his squad on Tuesday to discuss a variety of controversies surrounding the tournament, including the treatment of migrant workers, the host country's poor human rights record and backward stance towards the LGBTQ+ community.
Last week, Southgate said it would be "awful" and "a tremendous pity" if some fans did not feel safe traveling to the Gulf state for the finals, which begin in November.
Kane, who has led England since 2018, said he plans to communicate with colleagues from other countries, including Tottenham Hotspur teammates Hugo Lloris and Son Heung-Min, who are captains of France and South Korea, respectively.
"As players, we had no say in where this World Cup would be held," Kane remarked. "However, it has brought to light crucial issues that would not have been brought to light if the World Cup had not been held."
"We need to do everything we can to help them comprehend the difficulties and conditions." We aren't experts in that subject in terms of what we know right now, but we try to help in any way we can, and we try to use our platform to help in any way we can.
I understand that several issues in the country have made some progress thus far. My goal is that by hosting the World Cup and shining a spotlight on the country, we will be able to make progress on some of the long-standing concerns.
"There are a few of other national team leaders on my Tottenham team, so maybe [I'll] talk to them to see if we can be more united in what we try to achieve and how we approach it." That's something I and a few of the team's older players will aim to accomplish in the coming months.
Kane continued, when asked about England players airing their opinions during Tuesday's meeting: "We had that meeting last night, and I believe it was critical to have that discussion with the manager, staff, and players.
"We obviously wanted to qualify for the World Cup first, which we have done. As a result, it was our first opportunity to talk about it. That discussion was led by Gareth, and we discussed what to expect as well as some of the major challenges surrounding the World Cup.
