Van de Velde played in her youth for Buitenveldert and VVSB and arrived at De Toekomst via CTO Amsterdam in 2018. She joined the Talent Team, but also quickly made her appearance in the first team. On 21 October 2018, she made her debut for the Ajax Women in the match against Excelsior/Barendrecht.
Memorable
It was a memorable first year in white-red-white for Van de Velde in any case, as she also signed her first professional contract in May 2019. Earlier that month, the right-footed player won her first trophy with the Ajax Women. On 12 May 2019, the midfielder came on as a substitute in the 2-1 victory over PEC Zwolle in the KNVB Cup final.
"That was a special moment in my career, winning my first trophy with the Ajax Women," Van de Velde said previously. "In training sessions and matches with the Talent Team, I always did my best and tried to show what I could do. I had always lived for football. I wanted to continue on that path."
Van de Velde broke through as a midfielder during that period but developed over the following years into an extremely versatile and multifunctional player. She first spent a lengthy spell at left-back and last season was mainly deployed as a central defender.
Van de Velde’s Ajax career was not all plain sailing. She was sidelined for long periods on two separate occasions. In the summer of 2022, when she suffered her second serious knee injury, she had just signed a new contract.
"After the first injury, I didn’t expect I would suffer such a serious injury for a second time. I thought that wouldn’t happen to me. Yet it did. But I know enough players who have suffered a second knee injury and returned to full fitness. That definitely helped me," Van de Velde said in April 2024.
Hearing impairment
Her early football career had already taken a relatively unusual path. At the age of five, a hearing impairment was discovered that she had likely had since birth. Young Jonna was given two hearing aids, which she initially refused to wear while playing football for her club VVSB. When coaches shouted instructions to her from a short distance, she could not understand a word. Nowadays, she knows no different and has been playing for years with two hearing aids that are barely noticeable.
"During my primary school years, I didn’t want to wear them. But it exhausted me. I always had to be switched on and listen so carefully to what people were saying. When my parents asked me something, I either didn’t hear it or had to reply with: ‘What?!’. It made me incredibly grumpy."
"Nowadays they’re so small that I hardly notice I’m wearing them. I put them in when I get up and only take them out when I go to sleep. I don’t feel them at all. And hearing aids now come with Bluetooth as well. Do you know how useful that is? I never need earphones and can simply listen to videos on my phone through my hearing aids."
Van de Velde’s time at Ajax was also filled with many wonderful sporting moments. She won the league title once with the Ajax Women, lifted the KNVB Cup three times and won the Eredivisie Cup once with the Ajax Women.
Absolute highlight
An absolute highlight was also the historic UEFA Women’s Champions League campaign in the 2023/2024 season. Under Suzanne Bakker, the Ajax Women became the first Dutch club ever to reach the last eight of the competition. "I was able to play in all the Champions League matches. That was absolutely brilliant."
Although the Ajax Women did not win a trophy last season, there were still memorable moments for Van de Velde. In October, she joined the Club of 100 and earlier this month she was voted Player of the Year.
