Tibo Debaillie

Tibo Debaillie (born 10 September 1997) is a Belgian professional gridiron football defensive lineman for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Towson.

Early life Debaillie was born in Gistel, Belgium on 10 September 1997. His father, Yvan, played American football in the 1980s, as did three of his uncles. Tibo gave up association football and dreamed of playing college football in the United States. Over the next few years he earned two player of the year awards and helped his team win the Belgian Bowl XXIX.

In 2016, Debaillie was discovered by Europe’s Elite, an organization co-founded by former pro player Brandon Collier that connects talented European prospects with American college coaches. He took a trip to America that summer, visiting Penn State, Maryland, Towson, Albany and UMass as Europe's Elite's first ever representative. Debaillie later took an official visit to Towson with his family in early September, committing to the school in Towson, Maryland shortly afterwards. He cited the tempo of the game as the biggest adjustment he had to make to play in America. The 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic; head coach Rob Ambrose lamented Debaillie's lost year, saying "This is his killer year, the one he’s supposed to get to talk about for the rest of his life and one that we get to brag about for the rest of his life." Debaillie was drafted by the Edmonton Elks with the 20th overall pick in the 2021 CFL global draft. He signed with the team two weeks later, Debaillie appeared in the first two games of the season in a special teams role before being relegated to the practice squad. He was elevated to the active roster again for their week 13 loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, where he recorded his first career defensive tackle, before being reverted back to the practice squad.

He re-signed with the Elks on December 15, 2021. However, he was released later in the off season on February 28, 2022.

Debaillie (#49) celebrates his first career touchdown in 2024. BC Lions On May 3, 2022, Debaillie signed with the BC Lions. In 2023, he played in 18 regular season games, starting in two, and recorded 14 defensive tackles and one sack.

In the 2024 season opener, on June 9, 2024, against the Toronto Argonauts, Debaillie scored his first career touchdown when he recovered a fumble by Cameron Dukes and returned the ball 20 yards for the score. He became the first global player in CFL history to have scored a touchdown.

On July 13, 2025, Debaillie was placed one the Lions' 1-game injured list after suffering an injury during the previous week's game against the Montreal Alouettes. He rejoined the active roster on September 11, 2025. On September 18, 2025, Debaillie was placed on the Lions' 6-game injured list. He rejoined the active roster on October 3, 2025.