The growth of the teaching and learning of Spanish as a foreign language (SFL) is a fact, as the Cervantes' Institute documents it yearly. However, there is a part of the planet located in the South of the Saharan Dessert that has not received the deserved attention, even though it is the third region in the world with more learners of Spanish language. In order to find the reasons for the current situation, we present some reflections regarding the motives that promote or discourage the inclusion of Spanish in the curriculum of Sub-Saharan education systems. From a historical perspective, we present the first contacts of the Spanish language in this vast territory and we analyse how post colonialism and international relationships with Spanish-speaking countries impact on the development of SFL courses.