As a swede I'm familiar with Östersunds (Yes it's an Ö, not an O) succes story. They actually went from the fourth divison to the first divison in five years. They have played in the Swedish first tier for two years. I have watched them (on TV) on a few occasions, and when playing Bilbao at home they were completely bullying the spanish side (which strangly ended in a 2-2 draw.). The cold weather and the artifical grass was probably an advantage for Östersund.
You are right on spot with them based in the middle of nowhere. Will be fun to watch when they meet Arsenal in a very, very cold Sweden in february...